Bronson (2008)

Bronson: Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. With Tom Hardy, Kelly Adams, Luing Andrews, Katy Barker. A young man who was sentenced to seven years in prison for robbing a post office ends up spending three decades in solitary confinement. During this time, his own personality is supplanted by his alter-ego, Charles Bronson.

“One thing is for certain: Bronson invites you to admire its protagonist as a pure, muscular embodiment of anarchy. And perhaps you will, but you will also be glad that he is still behind bars. The film opens with a man on stage proclaiming, u0026quot;My name is Charlie Bronson, and all my life Iu0026#39;ve wanted to be famous.u0026quot; The auditorium appears to be empty, but later, a still unseen audience provides the approval he so desperately covets. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBorn Michael Peterson (Tom Hardy), in a British suburb in 1952, he first went to prison at the age of 22 for burglarizing a post office. He stole £26.18 and received seven years for the crime, but that sentence was quickly extended as Petersonu0026#39;s infractions inside began to pile up: insubordination, violence, blackmail, and multiple hostage situations. Michael is gradually swallowed up by the prison system, seemingly an environment that suits him best. It is during this time that Michael Petersen, the boy, fades, and u0026#39;Charles Bronson,u0026#39; his superstar alter ego, takes over. Bronson occupies any territory in which he exists by sheer, brute, force. Bronsonu0026#39;s first and only instinct is to fight, to capture, and to win. He never makes it to phase two of planning. He has now spent more than three decades in jail, with the majority of those years in solitary confinement, and has become a tabloid sensation as the u0026quot;most violent prisoner in Britain.u0026quot; u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film is impressively structured and edited, shot in dark tones–illustrating his theme that Bronson is u0026quot;an artist looking for a canvas,u0026quot; whose search is frequently violent, crazy, and erratic. The director is Nicolas Winding Refn, most famous for the movie u0026quot;Driveu0026quot; (2011), and his u0026quot;Pusheru0026quot; trilogy of films about Copenhagenu0026#39;s violent, multi-ethnic underworld. Refn himself is something of a rebel, who brings a sharp, surreal, foreign eye to the film. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film solely rests upon the astonishing performance from an almost unrecognizable Tom Hardy. Bronson never asks for our sympathy for his situation, but somehow, at times, he is able to do just that. Hardy brings a raw physicality to the role, leaping naked about his cell, jumping from tables, and hurling himself into half a dozen guards. Unfortunately, the film never gets under the skin of Bronson and his motivations. It omits other facets of his life including the Muslim woman he married in jail, his conversion to Islam, and the subsequent renouncement of the awards he won for his art and poetry.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eEnduring the egotistical ramblings of a psychopath may not sound like a particularly entertaining prospect, but u0026quot;Bronsonu0026quot; delivers on all fronts. Gripping, visceral, ugly, and beautiful, u0026quot;Bronsonu0026quot; is simply unforgettable.”