Rage In The Cage (Bronson (DVD))

Member Name: utero

Product:	Bronson (DVD)
Date:	21/07/09 (105 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic Lead Performance, Interesting Direction

Disadvantages: Bronson's story isn't really that interesting

Michael Petersen is Britain's most infamous prisoner, however you probably know him as Charles Bronson, the broad moustached man of muscle who played a large part in the Broadmoor riots of the eighties.

Interest in the criminal underbelly of Britain is probably the driving force in the British film industry. But this is not a crime film a'la Lock Stock etc. I would compare this more to the Australian film Chopper, both are abstract profiles of men who's criminal celebrity is only large in their own minds.

The blurb on the DVD box compares this to Kubrick's Clockwork Orange, in all honesty it's nowhere near the genius of that film which has a message even more relevant in recent times.

Michael Petersen was brought up in a normal family lifestyle, the film portrays that there were no life changing incidents in his youth that set him upon a path of madness. He was an ordinary boy who with violent tendencies that he never grew out of.

I suppose that's really the crux of the film, there is no explanation as to why this man is one of the most violent and notorious prisoners in our country, he just is what he is.

The film shows various moments in Bronson's prison life where he takes on the authority with bare fists and blind rage. All narrated with theatrical segments where the main character moves the story along with cabaret style performances on a theatre stage. We see how he garnered the name Charles Bronson thanks to underground bare-knuckle fights against other men and eventually savage dogs. We see his stint being detained in a mental institute and his brief fling with the outside world when he was released from prison only to find himself back there within three months.

Bronson is a film about a character who isn't anything more than a psycho and so it's pretty thin on meaty material to make a gripping film. However it hands together thanks to some interesting direction and a fantastic lead performance from Tom Hardy. Going headfirst into the role and packing on a hefty frame, Hardy dominates the film and creates some sympathy for a man who really should be unlikeable in every way. He literally bares all and puts himself in some unflattering positions on screen, all in the name of portraying Bronson as a man who thrives on the celebrity of his own violence and thinks he's indestructible.

Director Nicolas Refn tells the story in a non-linear manner, adopting an off the wall approach and using sequences with animation etc to make something visually interesting despite the thin material on offer.

I found Bronson an ok film well packed into a tight running time. There is nothing interesting about Bronson when all's said and done. Like I've mentioned there is really no reason why this man is how he is and the film offers no explanation for his actions probably because there's nothing to tell.

- The DVD -

Bronson is a low budget but well shot film shown here on the small screen in widescreen. The transfer is pretty decent and the soundtrack makes good use of the eighties musical score and classical music cues.

- Extras -

The Making of a talking heads affair with most of the input coming from the director. However it's not promotional fluff and comes up with some interesting opinions on how the story was approached.

A brief featurette features Hardy and his trainer going through some of the work out routine Hardy undertook to make himself look physically like Bronson. There's some pretty serious muscle workouts going on in this footage that even I wouldn't try at home. But you can see just what a transformation Hardy undertook to take on the role.

The biggest extra is the fifteen minute audio talk from Bronson himself which was played out at the films premiere and caused a bit of a storm at the time of release. To be honest it's a meandering ramble from a man who seems to think he is a celebrity and goes on way too long.

Finally there are some trailers and TV spots for the film.

- Finally -

Bronson is worth taking a look at but it's not a hugely involving film. In the wrong hands it could have been pretty bad but it's worth taking in Hardy's die hard performance as the title character alone.

Summary: A powerhouse performance makes up for a slight story