Majikat Hardy is a man with great acting diversity, both in skill and physical form. An actor who seems to take on the role and live and breathe through it. Bronson was surprisingly creative in its approach, an idea of the creative mixed with illness as felt through his eyes of Britains most violent prisoner.

sol- Not a biopic of Charles Bronson the actor, but rather Charlie Bronson, once dubbed the UK's most violent prisoner, this drama from Nicolas Winding Refn is not your typical biographical movie. The film is structured around shots of the protagonist on an auditorium stage where he makes those listening to him laugh and cheer at varied anecdotes from his life. He also performs a memorable cabaret act on stage and seems genuinely happy for all his experiences in prison... until it gradually becomes obvious that his audience is merely imagined and a direct result of his megalomania and hyper-elevated sense of self-importance. A chilling point comes early on as Bronson reveals that he saw prison as "an opportunity" to make a name for himself and find fame in notoriety; all the prison wardens who he encounters are baffled by his frequently unprovoked violence, but it makes sense for someone bent on achieving fame however possible. We are given precious little background information on Bronson and his upbringing though, like what factors drove him to desire fame, but the snapshot of his life that we do get is absolutely unshakable. Tom Hardy is superb as the charismatic title character subject to near unpredictable mood swings and - as per Refn norm - the film looks and sounds exquisite with vivid colours and a great music score. The very pronounced parallels to 'A Clockwork Orange' work well too, though 'Bronson' is far less concerned with society's reactions to the main character's violence than Kubrick's seminal future-set drama.

framptonhollis "Bronson" tells the violent and shocking story of Michael Peterson (who nicknamed himself Charles Bronson, after the famous action movie star), who has been hailed as Britain's most infamous and notorious prisoner. This film depiction of his life showcases violence at its most barbaric, completely deglamorizing it to a point of horrific brutality that is at times extremely difficult to watch. One critic hailed this film to the the "Clockwork Orange" for the 21st century, which I can certainly agree with. Tonally and stylistically, this film certainly does borrow quite a bit from the Kubrick classic, blending elements of surrealism and humor with terrifying violence and haunting narration from the film's vicious anti hero.While this is a brutal film, it is at times a surprisingly beautiful film. Nicolas Winding Refn is a master of visuals, and the musical score of this film is absolutely superb. Not to mention, Tom Hardy's performance as Bronson is spine chilling, funny, and brilliant!This is a compelling and sickening little movie that will both fascinate and horrify.

Jonathan Roberts A film can be good in spite of a bad performance, but a good performance rarely provides enough compensation in an otherwise weak film. 'Bronson' claims to follow the title character through his years of crime and incarceration in Britain, but it is more accurately described by Roger Ebert: "92 minutes of rage, acted by Tom Hardy." As you may expect from this brief but accurate description, the film features its fair share of fights. Interestingly, these are usually captured in close resemblance to 'A Clockwork Orange'. This may have been intentional, as both films can be interpreted as satires of the justice system, told from the perspective of a particularly troublesome offender. Unfortunately, the similarities end there. Although the protagonist of Nicolas Refn's 'Bronson' is a man both real and living, he is profoundly uninteresting. The novelty of Tom Hardy screaming expletives soon wears off, and there is very little substance lying beneath the character's violent exterior. A higher standard of writing could have made Charles Bronson an interesting subject for a biopic, but the inability of Refn's film to confront the man seriously means that the viewer learns almost nothing about Charles Bronson in watching the film. 'Bronson' could have explored the ethics and psychological impact of solitary confinement, the public fascination with figures like Charles Bronson, and what the aims are (and should be) of long-term imprisonment. It doesn't. I can only recommend this film to die- hard fans of Tom Hardy, although I don't believe that this is (as many believe) his best performance. He's better in 'Locke', I think.