Customer Reviews

Bronson (Widescreen Edition)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Charlie Bronson/Michael Peterson is quite a character. I'm told that the events and details in this film stray a little here and there from the truth, but all in all it makes for a quite entertaining look at one of the most violent prisoners in the UK's history. Actor Tom Hardy, who got amazingly buffed-up for this role, brings the right amount of humor, pathos, and dangerous zaniness to the title role.

You can't help but cheer for Charlie Bronson, though you will be glad you are doing it from a safe distance.

Bronson the man has quite a story. "Bronson" the movie is a tour-de-force of bravura and playful acting by Tom Hardy, and deserving of all its accolades. No one I have spoken with who saw this movie failed to be entertained by it.

Buy it, rent it, I don't care. Just watch it. [Big grin]

To say that lead actor Tom Hardy is gonzo-brilliant is nearly as understating as the complete overlooking of his performance throughout award season. Director Refn's approach here is as viscerally punctuated and artistically daring as anything in his excellent "Pusher Trilogy."

Everyone has heard of Charles Bronson. Well, THAT Charles Bronson anyway, the title character here is definitely a far cry from the hardened film hero of the same name. This Charlie Bronson was originally born Michael Peterson, who despite having a decent upbringing, grew up to be a criminal, and much, much more surprisingly. Known as Britain's most notorious prisoner, Bronson manages to capture the ferocity of the man with tongue-in-cheek humor and sheer unpredictable moments. Tom Hardy, who has been in quite a bit ranging from Star Trek: Nemesis, Layer Cake, and Rocknrolla among others, gives a star-making performance that should be seen to be believed. Besides undergoing a physical transformation in bulking up, Hardy's performance may very well be akin to what Eric Bana managed to do some years ago with Chopper, in which he ironically enough, played famous prisoner Mark "Chopper" Read. All in all, though it definitely isn't for everybody, Bronson is wholeheartedly worth your time, mainly thanks to the ferocious performance of Tom Hardy, whose stardom should most definitely (and deservedly) be on the rise.

"Bronson" is based on the real life of a man often referred to as "the most violent prisoner in Britain". "Charlie Bronson" is a moniker the prisoner (real name: Michael Peterson) assumed as a sort of stage name. According to the film, Peterson desired to be famous and went about garnering that fame by perpetuating heinously violent actions against other prisoners and prison guards.

The film is bloody, violent, disturbing, and incredibly effective. Tom Hardy is a powerhouse in the role in every sense of the word. He's an imposing figure to start. His powerfully built wrestler's physique makes the improbabilities of his physical altercations believable. He captures the audience's attention in a stranglehold of a performance, playing straight a role that could have easily turned into an insane human cartoon. Instead we watch a credibly complex sociopathic character unfold who is apparently choosy about upon whom he will wreck his carnage (primarily the heavily armed and numerous prison guards). His mirthless laughter at the beginning of the film puts the audience off-kilter, not quite able to regain balance until some time after the end credits roll. You're never quite sure what Hardy's Bronson is going to do next. He's so pitch perfect throughout the film, it's hard to take your eyes off this living disaster.

The film is essentially presented from Bronson's point of view, which lends itself to some strange storytelling considering his sociopathic bent. Some self-narrated fantasy asides are at first quite bizarre as they're occurring with Bronson telling his story on stage in full makeup. There is a heavy dose of A Clockwork Orange-style cinematography, especially when Bronson is committed to a truly bizarre mental institution. Again, this could be interpreted as Bronson's views of the situation, not how they actually were. There's also an odd measure of homo-eroticism in the film -- Bronson seems to attract the attention of gay men, albeit never has any semblance of romantic reciprocation -- and you'll see more than one fully nude shot of Tom Hardy's man-bits including a scene where he commandeers a male prison librarian to give him a full-body butter rubdown to make him more difficult to handle in the upcoming fight.

I couldn't quite put my finger on whether or not director Nicolas Winding Refn finds Bronson to be a sympathetic character (a little off-putting in itself), but it's obvious that Refn is fascinated with Bronson's complexities. One can't help but feel that Bronson deserves every last brutal beating he receives at the hands, feet, and batons of the prison guards, as he is presented as the exclusive instigator of each outpouring of violence. The last image of Bronson, bloodied and confined in a solitary cage, whimpering like a wounded animal, is bound to stick with you for a while.

Bronson is brutal, but fascinating to watch, walking a thin line that dispassionately presents a violent life without glorifying the perpetrator. It'll most likely make you uncomfortable, but then again, how else would you portray a guy who wanted to get famous by fashioning the persona of Britain's most violent prisoner?

Don't worry ! Even Refn, during an interview, confessed that he didn't understand Bronson's psychology and that he put a lot of himself, of his own dark side, in the portrayal of the hero. Moments of surreal poetry alternate with raw violence here. It's interesting but, in my opinion, Bronson can't compare with Valhalla Rising, the director's masterpiece. Already forgotten, unfortunately.

Must be watched multiple times. After the intial shock of the first viewing, Hardy's perfomance makes you want to watch it over and over. Hardy really shows off his acting chops in BRONSON. The most disturbing part about the film is that is was based on an actual person, who is still in prison. Looking foward to more movies fom Tom Hardy.

I am working my way through the Tom Hardy movies. This was the fourth one that I watched (Inception, Wuthering Heights, Warrior, then Bronson). At first, I watched it on the Amazon On Demand (or whatever it is called). Then, I bought the DVD.

It's one of those films that is so strange and good that you can't stop watching. I read that some people didn't like it because Tom Hardy played Bronson too sympathetic. I found that the movie also played out in a way where I never forgot what the character was capable of.

4.3 stars

The real-life Bronson is quite a celebrity in Britain, apparently, but I'd never heard of him across the pond until this wild film. Director Refn's unique vision and Brady's incredible performance as Bronson make this a truly special film that will delight some and no doubt sicken others. In any case, it's a piece of cinematic brilliance that raises all sorts of questions and answers almost none of them, with much drama and glee.

This guy is the very definition of sociopath, yet he's a hero to many in his native country. My main question in watching this is how do the guards get suckered into his grasp time and again; certainly a very different prison system from America's, where this sort of fellow would be shut down immediately. Yet the willingness to try to fathom Bronson's mind and heart are what perhaps makes Britain a more humane place. Or maybe not, when criminals have more rights than their victims? Yet another quandary hardly even addressed here. Like most of the judgments, it's up to you.

What is certain is that Hardy and Refn gave this their all, and the various weird but effectively matched techniques that Refn uses are always in keeping with Brady's oddly nuanced performance. There's plenty of violence, but it's all realistic, non-Hollywood bare-knuckle stuff, with hardly a gun fired. The violence will be too much for some, but as much as I don't love violence I thought it was well done here and always worked towards the film's message. Still not sure what that is, but it was a trip to watch it all play out.

Beautifully shot and thoroughly ugly at the same time, Bronson is one of a kind, and Brady's star turn is one of the most bravura acting jobs I've seen in years. If you can stomach a fair bit of fisticuffs, and a look at a mind that's unlike any you've ever encountered, Bronson may be an experience you'll not soon forget. And rarely will you feel better about law enforcement, knowing that society does well to have places to keep folks like Charlie well away from everyone else.

"Bronson" opens with a brief narration from Charles Bronson, as played by Tom Hardy, stating how he always wanted to be famous. Cut to a red lit scene where prison guards approach Bronson's cell, while Bronson is gearing up to fight the guards. This all done to the tune of Scott Walker's "The Electrician." This sets up the stylistic approach to "Bronson," which is funny, alarming, disturbing, and at some points sad.

The film is a biography of "Britain's most notorious criminal." While Bronson is known for his wild antics, the director takes a very stylized approach in telling the story, including often ironic pairings of music and violence, ala A Clockwork Orange, Bronson speaking before an audience in clown makeup as he tells his story, and much a dose of very dark humor. The approach makes this a fun film to watch. As to how the viewer perceives Bronson, that's another story.

In the film, Bronson is presented as a curious figure. He's possibly insane and possibly sociopathic. The script makes Bronson appear unapologetic, noting that his upbringing was decent enough, and stating how he loved prison. The only time we get a chance to sympathize is possibly the original sentence, where Bronson stole about 40 dollars and went to jail initially for seven years. He then states that the prison cell was like a hotel room for him. He gets in numerous fights, is shuffled from prison to prison and hospital to hospital, where he remains today. The film primarily focuses on the incidents that kept getting him in trouble.

The film is anchored by the stylized approach and Tom Hardy's performance, which shifts between a subtle insane calmness, to a manic intensity. Whether it's a straight performance of Bronson or not doesn't matter. It fits the tone of the film and is funny and scary at the same time. The film features a very carefully orchestrated soundtrack and unique cuts that keep the story interesting, which is a feat considering how much of Bronson's life was spent behind bars in solitary confinement.

The film drags a bit toward the end, but it's altogether a fine film. My one gripe is the intent of this film seems curious. As a character, Bronson is fascinating to study. However, it's easy to see how a viewer might feel the director is praising his exploits, or at the very least, take an obscene interest in this man as a celebrity. He says he always wanted to be famous. Well, if we're watching the film, then I guess he succeeded.

Bronson was one of my favorite if not my favorite film from last year so it was an easy purchase to make this one of the first Blu-Rays I owned that I wasn't re-purchasing from DVD. Like its protagonist Bronson isn't an easy film to explain.
On one hand you can say its a biopic of Michael Peterson, a british prisoner who has rechristend himself in his fighting name of Charles Bronson and made a name for himself by causing riots and taking hostages so many times He's now serving a life sentence in his own prison to protect guards and other convicts from him. The movie isn't so simple though taking what I call a more gonzo approach to the idea of a biopic of a man who's so off kilter a personality. The best critics and even director Nicolas Winding Refn admit that the film is operating on different levels. The normal biopic features Peterson narrating his life, the story of young man who leads an existence engaging in fights at an early age until at nineteen He decides to rob a post office. He's sentenced to seven years in prison and once in decides to make the most of it engaing in fights and other violence.
Then theres another angle as Bronson puts on a suit, paints his face and narrates his life story to a crowd, telling jokes and basically as He says from his opening becoming famous through his actions as a prisoner. This is more the surreal aspect of the film exploring a duality between the personality and the person I found interesting. Even the lifestory reenactments seem to use a technique. The film opens on a vicious fight with a caged Bronson squaring off against six guards scored to a normal song that does provide the feeling of general disturbance of the man. Certain scenes want to show this reality while the movie switches soundtracks to a more classical score when Bronson is retelling his life becoming more of the showman He wants to be. We go from rock and roll to Wagner at the drop of a hat to emphasize a more larger than life quality to the story.
Refn's an interesting director who totatlly seems to have changed his direction from his films like the Pusher series which were more realistic compared to this. This change of tone and style definitely makes him a filmmaker I'm more interested in seeing after this film but I'll be remiss if I didn't mention Tom Hardy's performance. The film has become mainly recognized for Hardy's work reminiscent to Eric Bana as Mark Brandon Read in Chopper. Unlike Bana who became known outside of Australia because of Chopper though, Hardy's been working for nearly ten years in films like Black Hawk Down and Layer Cake. He's mostly been a character actor in small roles gaining some leads in other films. After this though I can definitely see this changing as He totally owns his role as Bronson. He bulked up considerably shaved his head, but more than that He has an almost animal intensity in the performance. He's funny, He's brash but at the end you do in a way see the wounded animal existing underneath the persona- again something reminiscent of Bana's performance in Bronson. I enjoyed Refn's direction but I can definitely recommend the film from the performance of the lead actor.
The film is a biopic of an interesting person that thankfully doesn't glorify the man. There is a free Bronson campaign but it never seems to argue for this idea. In the end its a entertaining film with great direction and an amazing performance. Like I said this is one of the first Blus I purchased so I'm not as good at others at judging picture and the like. I've heard some reviews that have said the pictures good but not great but to me the picture popped with an amazing ammount of sharpness and detail while still retaining a film like appearance. The sound though is spectacularly good benefiting the dialogue and music selection. Magnolia thankfully isn't a company that skimps on extras for either DVD or Blu-Ray and there is a great selection of features including a making of that includes some of Bronson's family, select interviews with Refn, Hardy and actor Matt King. Theres also a feature on training Tom Hardy as well as behind the scenes footage and everything is rounded out with recorded monologues from Charles Bronson himself. The last feature should be something interesting like interviews with Mark Read were on Chopper, but truthfully asides from the rambling nature the audio isn't very good.
Thats a good ammount of material rounding out an excellent disc. Like I said I loved the film and would definitely recommend the Blu Ray for fans of the movie. However you can see the movie though its a definite recommendation from me.