Name: The most over the top acting performances ever - Chopper!
Item: Chopper
Rating: 100
Author: @stickupfilm

Name of film: Chopper

Name of Actor: Eric Bana

Director: Andrew Dominik

Year: 2000

Why this performance

Eric Bana has never been better than in this utterly ridiculous turn as unhinged, violent Australian criminal, Mark “Chopper" Read from 2000. Its a star making performance in director, Dominik's often funny and quite bonkers movie - Bana goes from charm to melt down in seconds. This is similar to Tom Hardy's role as prisoner, Charles Bronson in Nicolas Winding Refn’s film from 2008, Bronson - which must have taken inspiration from Chopper. This is an excellent true-crime drama and a director's assured debut. Yet in terms of star power, this film wouldn't have been half as good without Bana – he was a newcomer to the movies, a former stand up TV comic, giving his first big-screen performance. Chopper is a misogynist, Melbourne criminal, on whose unreliable and bestselling memoirs this film is based. Read himself suggested that Bana play him, after seeing the actor in the sketch comedy series, Full Frontal. Bana spent two days living with Read to help him practice for the role, and many of Read's friends, enemies, and old associates were interviewed. Bana's meetings with Read can be seen in the DVD's special features. So the plot - Chopper is in jail in the late 70s, grinning, while telling his horror stories to prison officers without inhibition. The viewer gets the sense that he is unhinged pretty quickly. He attacks and eventually kills rival tough guy, Keithy George (David Field) while in prison - “You should have seen him, ” he boasts, “Whinge, whinge, fuckin’ whinge.” He then tells his fellow prisoner and mate, Jimmy Loughnan (Simon Lyndon) that he wants to put the prison under siege by attacking more wardens. Rather than get involved with Chopper's mad plans, Jimmy decides to knife Chopper instead, but Chopper is superhuman. “Bit early in the morning for kung fu, isn’t it?”
It seems he can survive anything. He cuts his own ears off to get to a segregated wing, defends himself in court against a charge that he was the one who attacked Keithy first. Out of prison, his distrust of women and people, fuelled by cocaine madness, explodes and using his informant status with local cops, wipes out anyone who winds him up the wrong way - with police blessing. It’s mayhem. Bana is riveting, both as the young sociopath and then as the weightier gold-toothed, nutter he turns into. Bana has had a 20 year plus career in movies and television, many in straight, solid roles, but he's never made anything like Chopper and for pure adrenaline thrills, this is his 10 out of 10 endeavour. Why hasn’t he gone more into film comedy or more extreme movies? A few years back, he was hinting at a return to stand-up. If this film is anything to go by, it could be out there and funny. Chopper grossed $3.9 million worldwide and received positive reviews. It has since gained cult status. Part one of the production ran from 3 May until 26 May with part two continuing from 28 June until 21 July 2000. The month long break enabled Bana to put on the extra weight necessary to play the older Read. It won him a best actor award at the AACTA awards, the Australian equivalent of the Oscars