Bronson (2008)

Director:

Nicolas Winding Refn

Writers:

Brock Norman Brock (screenplay) and
Nicolas Winding Refn (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 March 2009 (UK)

Genre:

Action | Biography | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The Man. The Myth. The Celebrity.

Plot:

A young man who was sentenced to 7 years on prison for robbing a post office ends up spending 30 years in solitary confinement. During this time, his own personality is supplanted by his alter ego, Charles Bronson.

Plot Keywords:

Blood | Prison | Cell Mate | Drawing | Theater

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Tom Hardy	...	Charles Bronson
Matt King	...	Paul
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kelly Adams	...	Irene
Katy Barker	...	Julie
Edward Bennett-Coles	...	Brian
June Bladon	...	Party guest
Amanda Burton	...	Mum
William Darke	...	Charles Bronson - Age 13
Andrew Forbes	...	Joe Peterson
Helen Grayson	...	Uncle Jack's Party Guest (as China-Black)
Anna Griffin	...	Train Girl
Kate Hesketh	...	Uncle Jack's Party Guest
Leah Hinton-Fishlock	...	Uncle Jack's Party Guest
Mandy Kay	...	Boxing Crowd Member
James Lance	...	Phil
Matt Legg	...	Prisoner
Brendan McCoy	...	Prisoner
Jane McLennan	...	Uncle Jack's Party Guest
Juliet Oldfield	...	Alison
Jonathan Phillips
Hugh Ross	...	Uncle Jack
Dean Spicksley	...	Prisoner
Mark Stocks	...	Gangster
Joe Tucker	...	John White

MPAA:

Rated R for violent and disturbing content, graphic nudity, sexuality and language.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:18 | Ireland:18 | France:-16 | Australia:MA | USA:R (certificate #45505) | Germany:18 | Finland:K-15 | Norway:15 | Canada:14A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Great Central Railway, Leicestershire, England, UK

Company:

Vertigo Films

Trivia:

Tom Hardy put on 3 stone (42 lb) to play Charlie Bronson, doing 2500 press-ups a day for five weeks.

Goofs:

Factual errors: At (11:00) The tutor asks Charles "What's the matter, Charlie?" But in this stage of the story Charles Bronson still had his original name Michael Peterson. He had not yet changed his name to Charles Bronson.

Movie Connections:

References Death Wish (1974)

Soundtrack:

Viens, Malika

Director and Leading Man combine in an excellent expression of style.

Tom Hardy and Nicholas Winding Refn are the stars of the show here, taking the story of 'Britain's most violent prisoner' and twisting it into an explosion of style.

Tom Hardy plays Michael Peterson who was initially incarcerated for 7 years after robbing a Post Office but this sentence turned into a 34 year stretch after numerous cases of violence in prison. Of these 34 years 30 were spent in solitary confinement. In his short period outside he assumed the fighting name of Charles Bronson after the Death Wish star. It is his alter ego which dominates the film.

Hardy is magnificent, prowling around people almost growling, a hulking, brooding, unpredictable beast who almost doesn't care what happens to him, preferring gaol where his is someone to the outside where he is no-one.

Many reviewers have been troubled by the lack of insight into the character of Bronson, however this is unsurprising as the story itself is narrated by Bronson himself, cutting back to a fantasy audience where he parades in varying levels of makeup, the star of his own show.

Refn handles this material with aplomb, filling it with tracks and pans, the occasional slice of slow motion, an interesting and varied colour palate and impeccable taste in music. Kubrick and A Clockwork Orange have been mentioned in almost every review, but there are clear influences of Bertolucci, perhaps mostly The Conformist in its detached style and use of colour.

By the time the film ends we are unsure who to feel sorry for, lost in a world of hard lines and constant violence. A very interesting film that marks out Hardy and Refn as exciting talents in modern cinema.