Bronson
A young man who was sentenced to 7 years in 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.
What critics thought
Hardy's performance is the film's dominant force, drawing frequent comparison to Malcolm McDowell's turn in A Clockwork Orange — both in the role itself and in Refn's deliberate visual homages to Kubrick. Critics broadly responded well to the direction, the dark humour, and the kinetic energy, though the film's relationship to its own violence was a genuine sticking point: admirers saw it as unflinching art, while detractors felt it tipped into exploitation.
“I suppose, after all, Nicolas Winding Refn, the director and co-writer of Bronson, was wise to leave out any sort of an explanation. Can you imagine how you'd cringe if the film ended in a flashback of little Mickey undergoing childhood trauma? There is some human behavior beyond our ability to comprehend. I was reading a theory the other day that a few people just happen to be pure evil. I'm afraid I believe it. They lack any conscience, any sense of pity or empathy for their victims. But Bronson is his own victim. How do you figure that?”
Roger Ebert·rogerebert.com
Genres
Action, Crime, Drama
Cast & Crew
DirectorNicolas Winding Refn
StarringTom Hardy, Matt King, James Lance, Kelly Adams, Katy Barker
ComposerJohnny Jewel
Bronson
A young man who was sentenced to 7 years in 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.
What critics thought
Hardy's performance is the film's dominant force, drawing frequent comparison to Malcolm McDowell's turn in A Clockwork Orange — both in the role itself and in Refn's deliberate visual homages to Kubrick. Critics broadly responded well to the direction, the dark humour, and the kinetic energy, though the film's relationship to its own violence was a genuine sticking point: admirers saw it as unflinching art, while detractors felt it tipped into exploitation.
“I suppose, after all, Nicolas Winding Refn, the director and co-writer of Bronson, was wise to leave out any sort of an explanation. Can you imagine how you'd cringe if the film ended in a flashback of little Mickey undergoing childhood trauma? There is some human behavior beyond our ability to comprehend. I was reading a theory the other day that a few people just happen to be pure evil. I'm afraid I believe it. They lack any conscience, any sense of pity or empathy for their victims. But Bronson is his own victim. How do you figure that?”
Roger Ebert·rogerebert.com
Genres
Action, Crime, Drama
Cast & Crew
DirectorNicolas Winding Refn
StarringTom Hardy, Matt King, James Lance, Kelly Adams, Katy Barker
ComposerJohnny Jewel