'Bronson' is a ninety minute dramatised account of the life of one of Britain's most notorious prisoners, Michael "Charlie Bronson" Petersen. Originally jailed for armed robbery in the seventies, Bronson's refusal to button down to porridge - and ambition to become a "name" in prison, saw him take hostages, stage protests and fight many prison guards at a time. His resultant extended sentence of a staggering thirty four years of prison have seen him spend twenty six years in solitary confinement, a spell in an insane asylum and a total of one hundred and twenty four days of parole/freedom. With each small burst of freedom on the outside, Bronson realised he was ill suited to a world fast outpacing him - he is a king and a legend in prison, however and one of the strong messages of the film is that he would rather suffer the slings and arrows of jail than operate in a world he could not fathom.
Bronson, in an awards-magnetising, all consuming performance from 'Star Trek: Nemesis's Tom Hardy, narrates his own life story from a Proscenium stage. Bronson's innate comedic and artistic talents are exploited in these linking scenes. He wears Leigh-Bowery style clown make-up as he addresses the audience - in fact Leigh Bowery's influence seems a touchstone for the atavistic "war paint" Bronson adopts during various staged battles with his jailers, as well as his own surrealist cartoons.
A pastiche of an act popularised by slightly nihilistic British comedian "Freddy Starr" is used inspirationally in Bronson's description of his dealings with an asylum's governors.
All in all, this is a rich, highly stylish and convincing account of an empty life and aching soul. Vertigo Pictures appear not to have had a distributor for the film at the screening this writer attended and it would be a shame if a major international distributor trimmed the violence, homo-erotic subtexts and surrealism as it would neuter the piece.
In a film that is 'A Sense of Freedom', with the period tone and raw power, but profound Britishness, of 'The Long, Good Friday' - plus a dash of 'The Rocky Horror Show' and 'Shrek' - an anti-hero as impressive as Eric Bana's 'Chopper' (2000) is born.
Although, unlike his Antipodean doppelganger, Bronson don't hit women.
A refreshingly different British crime movie. You won't have enough...
Bronson, in an awards-magnetising, all consuming performance from 'Star Trek: Nemesis's Tom Hardy, narrates his own life story from a Proscenium stage. Bronson's innate comedic and artistic talents are exploited in these linking scenes. He wears Leigh-Bowery style clown make-up as he addresses the audience - in fact Leigh Bowery's influence seems a touchstone for the atavistic "war paint" Bronson adopts during various staged battles with his jailers, as well as his own surrealist cartoons.
A pastiche of an act popularised by slightly nihilistic British comedian "Freddy Starr" is used inspirationally in Bronson's description of his dealings with an asylum's governors.
All in all, this is a rich, highly stylish and convincing account of an empty life and aching soul. Vertigo Pictures appear not to have had a distributor for the film at the screening this writer attended and it would be a shame if a major international distributor trimmed the violence, homo-erotic subtexts and surrealism as it would neuter the piece.
In a film that is 'A Sense of Freedom', with the period tone and raw power, but profound Britishness, of 'The Long, Good Friday' - plus a dash of 'The Rocky Horror Show' and 'Shrek' - an anti-hero as impressive as Eric Bana's 'Chopper' (2000) is born.
Although, unlike his Antipodean doppelganger, Bronson don't hit women.
A refreshingly different British crime movie. You won't have enough...