It Came From My Instant Queue: Bronson

Bronson is one of my favorite movies of the last couple years. It's an interesting exploration of the mind of a man bent on becoming famous with no talents to make that happen apart from his raw, violent nature. It's also based on a true story, making it all the more engaging. 
 
Bronson is directed by a Dane named Nicolas Winding Refn, who's previous work includes the Pusher series, as well as Fear X. The direction is a big part of what makes the film so watchable and surprisingly enjoyable, given that you as the viewer are tasked with sympathizing with a foul-mouthed brute who looks like a circus strongman from the Victorian era. Many shots throughout are beautifully composed, despite the majority of the story taking place within the dark confines of various prisons and asylums in England. The stylized look feels like it is intentionally meant to evoke Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, which makes sense as they share very similar themes and tone. This is, afterall, a film about violence.

It isn't quite violence for violence's sake, though. The main character, Michael Peterson by birth, states from the beginning that all he's wanted in life is to be famous. It's that theme that makes the film so relevant to the world we live in today. We live in a time where Warhol's predicted 15 Minutes of Fame is almost a foregone conclusion for society at large, with countless terrible reality shows and other cultural detritus clogging the landscape to prove it. So what Michael does is knock over a post office for a few pounds, landing him 7 years in prison. He sees this as his chance to make his mark, fighting any inmate or guard who gets near him, quickly racking up more and more years onto his sentence. The character loves the attention he gets from his brawling, and actor Tom Hardy (previously in RocknRolla and Layer Cake, and soon to be seen in my most anticipated film of this summer, Inception.) does a stellar job of showing how much he savors the moment before a fight, subtly smirking and breathing in deep in his cell as the sound of numerous guards' footsteps are heard rushing closer and closer to him. He has his rules though, and despite his pugilistic nature, never kills anyone. 

Every step of the way, the penal system is trying all it can to both contain and rehabilitate him. When it's decided his brutality is too much for the guards' own brutality to cope with in prison, Michael is sent to an insane asylum. The orderlies tell him they're not there to guard him, but instead are "lion tamers" who force him to take daily dosages of medication which reduces him to a drooling vegetable. This is the lowest point for Michael, and Hardy drives home the agony he's in wonderfully, again without words, but rather with looks of sheer sadness and helplessness as the drugs sedate him. You think he's finally found a friend when another patient talks to him, commiserating with his incarceration there, espousing that they're both completely sane. Soon after though, the inmate mentions his desire to rape a 9 year old girl, and seeing Michael's fruitless struggle against the overpowering drugs to tear the man apart is simply heartbreaking. For the first time in the film, you truly want him to destroy another person, yet he can't. 

When the asylum comes to the conclusion they will never rehabilitate him, and that he's cost the system tens of millions of dollars over the years, their only option to get rid of him is deem him completely sane and release him to the world. The scenes that follow show how uncomfortable and awkward Michael is in the real world, a product of the institutions he's spent 20+ years within. He takes up bare-knuckle boxing, where he also adopts the fighting mantle of Charles Bronson, which becomes his alter ego. His time spent free is very brief, though, and he soon robs a jewelry store to get himself landed back in prison. 
 
Now Charlie is introduced to his nemesis, the governor of the prison. Until this point in the film, Charlie had not had anyone in particular to fight against, and with the introduction of this character, a true match for him, the tension amps up and continues on through to the end of the film. I don't want to spoil the final act, but it's fantastic in setting the story up for an end that never pans out. 
 
The story is structured with narration by Charlie Bronson, the alter ego, in an alternate world, onstage in front of an audience of adoring fans. Charlie's theatricality in this cabaret world is so different from his real-world persona, and gives us a look into how Charlie ideally sees himself and the situations he lives through. It's through this world that we can understand how he sees prison as a hotel room, and what motivates him to want to remain there. It's a sylistic narrative choice that may put some off, but Hardy is simply so enjoyable throughout that I thoroughly loved seeing him pull off this dual role with aplomb. It's a shame he didn't get more recognition for his work in Bronson, and Hardy is now on my radar as an exciting actor to look out for. 
 
All in all, I found Bronson to be a fascinating film with an interesting story, delivered powerfully by Tom Hardy. It's a real treat for the eyes, and the story gets out as quickly as it gets in, clocking in at only about an hour and a half. 
 
Worth Streaming If You Like: A Clockwork Orange; Working-Class English Accents; Handlebar Moustaches
Worth Streaming If You Hate: Prison Guards, Circumsized Ding-Dongs (there's some nudity!!)