Bronson

Bronson - Britain's most violent and expensive prisoner!

Charles Bronson, notorious as 'Britain’s most violent prisoner', was originally sent down in 1974 for armed robbery with a sawn off shotgun and has now been incarcerated at Her Majesty’s Pleasure for 35 years. Bronson, a biopic, has been released by Nicholas Winding Refn, a Danish director, with the help of EM Media and BAFTA. 

The film opens with Charles Bronson (originally named Michael Peterson), bloodied in solitary confinement, raring to go - a caged animal. The scenes of violence are constant, brutal and to be expected. Don’t believe the hype though, there is no glorification of violence, or indeed of Bronson. He is portrayed as a sad, simple man with mental health issues. With no concept of how to survive in society he far too readily amuses himself by kicking the shit out of anyone that comes near him. You’ve got to wonder what hope there is for some when you see the scenes of his time in Rampton Hospital, a hospital for the criminally insane.

Bronson - still in prison!

Following his time inside, being bounced between prisons and hospitals, the narrative is the story of his perception of the events that have played out over the years. It focuses on his more turbulent years (he’s states he is anti-violence now) and how he discovered an outlet in being aggressive and later, in art. A man ahead of his time, he was obsessed with being someone, a celebrity (hence changing his name by deed poll to that of a minor Hollywood action hero). The film is intersected with scenes of Bronson on a theatre stage, painted as a macabre clown, explaining himself to a packed house. This is a strong feature of the movie and is where the laughs are raised in a film that by rights should have none.

Bronson is not to be taken as a direct biography or docufilm but an artistic insight into the character and psyche of the man. Certified insane and then sane again, the film does raise questions as to why someone who has never killed has been locked up for so long and with such long stretches in solitary confinement. There can be no beating about the bush, the man is crazy as a bag of frogs and his time in prison has obviously exacerbated this. It’s impossible to empathise with a sociopath, unless you are one, and Bronson doesn’t ask this of you. Tom Hardy plays the part to perfection: the relish in his eyes when he’s about to fight is obvious, as is the self pity and the twisted humour.

An intense movie that is artfully shot and superbly acted, Bronson is not going to float the majority’s boat due to the subject and graphic content. If on your boat you can stomach a bit of blood and be open to the concept that cinema doesn’t need to serve moral judgement, then Bronson is worthy of your time.

Bronson is on at the Broadway cinema until Thursday 26 March

Bronson official movie website




 

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