Andrew Dominik, a New Zealand-born Australian director and screenwriter, introduced himself to the world in 2000 with Chopper, a film which explored the life of Mark “Chopper” Read. The man was a criminal, and a ruthless one at that, involved in robberies, kidnappings, and even murders – all directed toward others in the criminal underworld of Melbourne. Chopper gained notoriety through his brutal acts of violence, especially after writing numerous books about his experiences.
The film begins with Chopper watching his own interview on a television set in his cell, in which he declares, “The average man in Australia doesn’t worry about Mark “Chopper” Read. The average man in Australia, he likes me, he couldn’t care less about me. What I do, he applauds.” People are watching this very interview because he’s a “bloody freak show,” an attraction of sorts. Yet, the film does not dwell so much on how he gained fame, but rather why such a character would receive it in the first place. This is a man that declares he is a normal person, “a normal bloke who likes a bit of torture.”
Chopper spent most of his adult life in prison, a place the film drapes in a monochrome blue color, from the walls to the very clothes the prisoners wear. The washed out visuals demonstrates the bland atmosphere of the place, creating a stark contrast to his life outside the prison. Most scenes are highly saturated, the strong colors a manifestation of Chopper’s anxiety and his brash lifestyle.
In one particular scene at a bar, Chopper leads Siam Ozerkam (a drug dealer) outside to the parking lot. Chopper proceeds to ask Siam whose side he is on. Paranoid about the death contract on him, Chopper points a gun at the man, who is not quite sure what to make of his questioning. Chopper grows increasingly paranoid and anxious, the dominating red lighting a manifestation of his mental state. He asks Siam why he brought him out to the parking lot, when the opposite is the case. After an argument arises in which Chopper demands Siam speak English, he shoots the man point blank in the face, enquiring afterwards if he’s okay. Does one laugh or feel for a man who is so terribly inept at controlling his actions? A man whose violence comes across as casual? The man is clearly lost, somewhat delusional, bent on living out his tough-guy fantasy. When the police tell him they have arrested the man that killed Siam, Chopper grows furious, pulling out the murder weapon to prove he was the man that did it. The police still do not believe him, leaving him to proclaim that he has never been so insulted in his life.
The last image of Chopper is back in his cell, watching the very interview from the beginning. He soaks in the attention he receives, not only for being on during primetime, but also from the two guards that watch it with him. He has achieved fame through his life of violence, but once the guards leave, he is alone, sitting on his bed trapped within the four walls of his dull cell. A man worthy of fame?
Dominik continued his examination of the celebrity status of violent men with his second film, tackling a more well-known subject in the 2007 Western, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. The film follows the life of Robert Ford, tackling Jesse James’ celebrity status through Ford’s obsession of the man. Jesse James, a celebrity when alive and a legend after death, was an outlaw, a gang leader that robbed banks and trains, and who claimed to have committed seventeen murders.
After joining the James’ gang on a train robbery, Bob gets to spend some time alone with Jesse. Bob, practically like a child, explains his joy of getting to talk to the man, mentioning all the times he spent in a library reading books about him. Jesse tells Bob they are all lies, clearly dampening his spirits. Does he know the man as well as he thinks he does? The celebrity and the man are not quite the same.
Jesse allows Ford to stick around, much to his elation. The two spend most of their time together, Bob practically studying Jesse, making note of his gestures and inflections. He even sneaks up on Jesse taking a bath, catching him at his most vulnerable. Bob notes how no one used to be able to catch Jesse off-guard, in addition to having never seen him without his guns. If Jesse appeared immortal and perhaps above other men, he is brought down in this scene; he is clearly mortal, and his naked body definitely human. Jesse, well aware of Bob’s fascination with him, utters, “Do you want to be like me, or do you want to be me?”
The film grapples with this question, yet it never provides a definite answer. When discussing the possibility of killing Jesse with his brother, Charley, he is told that he does not understand the severity of what he is proposing, that life is not just “yarns and newspaper stories.” Bob replies that Jesse is only a human being. Nonetheless he continues his obsession up until the very end of his relationship with Jesse. He rests on Jesse’s bed, feeling on his body the places where Jesse had been shot and pretending that his middle finger was missing the top two knuckles. Here is a childlike man who still is enamored with the famous outlaw, or at the very least the idol he is portrayed as.
Bob finds it impossible to escape Jesse’s shadow after he commits the killing, an ugly and unheroic one. Jesse, in death, arguably becomes a mythic figure, with songs written about him, and pictures of his corpse selling for two dollars each. It comes as no surprise, then, that Bob is eventually murdered, a result of the mass hate for bringing down a legend.
Both Chopper and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford explore the celebrity life of violent men, drawing questions of why these men achieved fame. Assassination presents a compelling look through one man’s obsession of an idol, effectively humanizing a larger than life figure and presenting a deeply flawed and paranoid man seeing enemies on all sides towards the end of his life, perhaps foreseeing Bob’s betrayal. Chopper, while not examining as large a figure, presents a distrustful man whose violence comes naturally, with little to no thought of the consequences of his actions. Both films are complex works that analyze the men behind the violence in society, presenting an honest look at such figures that gain notoriety through their acts of brutality.
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