Bronson – Movie Review
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Writer: Nicolas Winding Refn, Brock Norman Brock (Screenplay)
Starring: Tom Hardy, Mark King, Kelly Adams, Juliet Oldfield, Amanda Burton, James Lance, Jonathan Phillips
Plot: 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.
Tagline – 34 Years in prison. 30 in solitary confinement. Loving every minute.
Runtime: 1 Hour 32 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Needless Violent
Story: Bronson starts as we meet Michael Peterson (Hardy) who wants to be known a Charlie Bronson, he is telling us his story to why he is locked up in prison, we get to see just how troublesome he was growing up and how he didn’t care about breaking the law even in a violent way.
We see how Michael goes through solitary confinement believing he is an entertainer in the most extravagate way possible, though he never killed anyone. Even when he gets time out of prison he spends it fighting for Paul Daniels (King) giving him a chance to channel his anger.
Thoughts on Bronson
Characters – Michael Peterson is a violent man, he has spent 34 years in prison for his violent action. Though he never killed anyone, he takes the persona of Charles Bronson and makes himself feel like an entertainer. We mostly see him fighting or acting aggressively towards people, even the ones that want to help him. We really don’t meet many other cast members for long enough to get to know them, we do have an underground fight promoter that gives Michael a chance, a woman he falls in love with and his parents.
Performances – Tom Hardy is fantastic in the leading role, it is easily one of the most committed performance you will see from any actor in recent years, one that put him firmly on the map. The rest of the cast are ok, they don’t get enough time to do much as we jump through so many different years.
Story
The story here follows the time of Michael Peterson in prison. We jump around the timeline a lot, for example we learn how he got his alter ego Charles Bronson and the different moments where he went too far either inside of outside of prison. The question here remains, does his man deserve to have his story told. He clearly is a waste of space for the planet and giving him a chance to have his story told. Like it’s a hero’s journey against the people trying to keep people safe is a complete joke.
Action/Crime/Biopic – The action we follow is seeing how people tried to control this violent prisoner, we get a lot of just violent fight scenes, this mixes with the crimes he commits when he is on the outside and leaves us wondering why this man deserves a film about his life.
Settings – The film leaves us in and around the prison system, showing us just where Michael has spent his life and what he creates in his head.
Scene of the Movie – Hardy’s commitment is what needs praising the most here.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Did we need a film about this man?
Final Thoughts – This is a film that shows how committed an actor can go for his craft even if the story is messy and about a person we shouldn’t be giving our time too.
Overall: Hardy shines, the rest is messy.
Rating