‘LAW & Order” meets “Wide World of Sports” in the strange documentary “Bra Boys,” about surfers and criminals at a working-class beach in Australia.
Four brothers who grew up poor – the Abberton brothers – become expert surfers in the crime-ridden Maroubra Beach area, where the kids call themselves “Bra Boys” and consider themselves a tribe ready to defend their territory against all interlopers. There are police beatings – as in the cops get assaulted – and a local villain, “Hinesy,” gets killed in a shooting that ensnares two of the Abbertons.
Most of the film consists of death-
defying surf footage, which for nonsurfers gets pretty repetitive pretty quickly. And the claims of greatness (and innocence) for the Abbertons might have more credibility if “Bra Boys” weren’t directed by one of the brothers, Sunny; as it is, the shady aspects of the case seem to be glossed over.
The film is narrated by Russell Crowe, whose star power is probably the only reason it’s being released here.
Running time: 84 minutes. Rated R (language, some violent content, reckless behavior). At the Quad, 13th Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues.