Ambition is one of the most important things in life to have
Whether it's in your personal or professional life, ambition and achieving goals is what keeps you going. "Bronson", co-written and directed by the multi-talented Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn, is basically a story about one man's ambition as well, albeit the strangest and most disturbing I ever heard. "Bronson" tells the story of Michael Peterson; a man who may proudly call himself Britain's most violent prisoner. Peterson got imprisoned in 1974, following a relatively banal armed robbery incident, but ever since then he spent a total 34 years behind bars, of which 30 years in solitary confinement no less. Michael Peterson just has an extremely explosive personality and regularly hijacks fellow inmates or staff members in his cell to evoke a physical confrontation with as many armed guards as possible. During these hijacking situations, Peterson doesn't make commands or requests favors, he simply waits until the time is right and then simply prepares for a good old-fashioned bare knuckle fight in the nude! Throughout his "career" in and out of prison, he temporarily became a professional fighter and changed his name to Charlie Bronson, because he's tough and relentless. "Bronson" is a peculiar but admirably successful drama/semi- biography. Just how difficult is it to draw a portrait about a criminal who, in fact, never murdered or raped anyone in his entire life and yet easily can be considered as one of the most disturbing human beings on the planet? Nicolas Winding Refn delivered a powerful and deeply impressive motion picture, mostly thanks to an original narrative structure and a respectable approach of the subject matter. Michael "Charlie Bronson" Peterson supposedly narrates the movie himself, partially from inside his prison cell and partially on a theater stage dressed up like a clown. The latter POV masterfully illustrates Peterson's hunger for recognition and fame whereas the prison setting reflects his true introvert and dangerously disturbed personality. Multiple sequences are also downright petrifying and offensive, like the dance scene to Pet Shop Boys' "It's a Sin" inside the mental asylum. Of course, the movie undoubtedly also owes a lot of its tremendous impact to the staggering performance of Tom Hardy. He clearly put a lot of devotion and preparation into the role, but it surely paid off. Terrific, original and highly recommended film.
