Bronson (film)
| Bronson | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
|
| Directed by | Nicolas Winding Refn |
| Produced by | Rupert Preston Danny Hansford |
| Written by |
Brock Norman Brock Nicolas Winding Refn |
| Starring | Tom Hardy |
| Music by | Johnny Jewel |
| Cinematography | Larry Smith |
| Edited by | Matthew Newman |
|
Production
company |
Aramid Entertainment
Str8jacket Creations EM Media 4DH Films Perfume Films |
| Distributed by |
Vertigo Films (UK) Magnet Releasing (US) |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
92 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $230,000 |
| Box office | $2.3 million |
Bronson is a 2008 British fictionalized biographical crime film co-written and directed by Nicolas Winding Refn and starring Tom Hardy. The film follows the life of notorious prisoner Michael Gordon Peterson, who was renamed Charles Bronson by his fight promoter. Born into a respectable middle-class family, Peterson would nevertheless become one of the United Kingdom's most dangerous criminals, and is known for having spent almost his entire adult life in solitary confinement. Bronson is narrated with humour, blurring the line between comedy and horror.
The film begins with scenes from Bronson's childhood and early life, narrated with a wry humor by Hardy as Bronson/Peterson. Initially he is shown confronting the camera directly, dressed in prison garb; other times he is shown telling his tale in a vaudeville-style theater in front of a live audience who laughs and applauds at his stories. The film's story is not told in a linear fashion but unfolds as a surreal narrative of disconnected vignettes, punctuated by vaudeville interludes which sometimes break into the film at unexpected times.
He recounts various episodes of criminal behavior and violence which lead to him being sentenced to seven years in prison. At his sentencing, his mother optimistically declares her hope that he'll get out in four years. While in prison, however, he engages in numerous violent outburts, assaulting prison guard and fellow prisoners alike, which results in his sentence being extended beyond seven years.
Eventually Peterson is sent to a psychiatric hospital where he continues to brawl with those charged with the duty of controlling him. Put in solitary confinement, Peterson devises a plan that will be his trademark: he holds a member of the staff hostage until the help is sent, and then quixotically fights the help until being beaten and/or restrained. He is forcibly sedated and seemingly kept in this state for a long stretch of time. Eventually Peterson channels his yearning for rebellion, making a shoddy run for his escape until he is calmly thwarted by a staffer standing near the exit. Later, he musters more strength and attempts to strangle another detainee with his socks, but is apprehended again before killing the man.
In the vaudeville theater, Peterson/Bronson shows film footage of a rooftop protest during which he escaped to the institution's roof and managed to cause thousands of pounds' damage. He credits this destruction with the government's subsequent decision to declare him "sane" and have him released.
...
Wikipedia