ROMPER STOMPER (1992)

Director: Geoffrey Wright

Writer: Geoffrey Wright

Russel Crowe as Hando
Daniel Pollock as Davey
Jacqueline McKenzie as Gabe

A truly powerhouse performance from Crowe in this film about neo-Nazi skinheads in Melbourne. It shows perfectly why Crowe was and remains the best Australian male actor of this generation. The film essays mateship, loyalty and responsibility - and the industrial wasteland, dystopic skinhead social setting aptly provides a perfect environment for these to be explored. American History X, which came years later and covers similar characters in America, is a weak comparison. Uncomprimising, fresh, original.