Review of Bronson (2009) by Andrewburge — 31 Jan 2019

This film is so British that I want to send it to Prince Charles as anger release material to the fact that his mother is still alive and kicking. And good for her, God Bless The Queen, indeed. This fact is even more surprising giving as Nicolas Winding Refn, the directorial mind behind this exhibition piece is Danish.

Aesthetically, this is strapped of any beauty. It is a raw, intentionally unpolished piece into the life of Britain's most notorious prisoner, Michael Peterson a.k.a. Charles Bronson. Saying that Tom Hardy shines performing this maniac would be a poor choice of words. His performance is beyond good or bad, its simply performance art--which is what I think Charles Bronson is. He is the ultimate performance artist. You can clearly see Hardy enjoying playing him because his versatile talent is pushed to theatrical lengths.

Refn did not bother going into details about Bronson's life or upbringing, but he wanted us to know that he did not have any traumas as a child. He strips any reasoning for this film and wants us to understand that Charles Bronson is like that simply because he IS like that. "You can't pin me down"--he says. For him, prison was opportunity, his violent outbursts were an art form. The scene in which he captures the librarian bringing him books to incite the guards just so he can do his routine shows that perfectly, not to mention the theatrical intermissions which are also a big clue.

For the inevitable brawl with the guards he prepares like any artist does for a performance. In his case, he strips naked, paints his body and is eager to rumble. Bronson revels in chaos and beyond that there really is not much going on. The interactions with people around him are sparse, linear and the outside world simply does not work for him.

There really is not much to say about this film. Its all about Bronson and the guards topping each other off over and over again. Refn constantly smashes his head against a concrete wall here, and while its engaging to watch at first, after a while you become irritated, even disturbed by it.