Friday, July 30, 2010

Bronson (2008)



If there is one genre where people definitely need to figure out new and inventive ways to present a story its the biopic. Thats one of the things that Bronson has going for it. The movie is the story of England's most notorious prisoner, Michael Peterson, who renamed himself Charles Bronson (as his "fighting name"). Its an interesting take on the biopic, Brock Norman Brock (apparently his real name) and Nicolas Winding Refn frame the movie as if Bronson is speaking to audience at a fictional play, or fictional one man show, and its actually an interesting way to go. Its definitely stylish, with a definite Kubrickian feel to it. Tom Hardy, as Bronson, is starting become one of my favorite actors, and this is just an amazing, tour-de-force performance. Here's the thing though: your mileage will vary, while its definitely interesting, well-acted, and even funny at times-here's the thing: Bronson is an unrepentant and cruel bastard, so how much time you want to spend with him might definitely vary. While I really like how they took something as stale as the biopic and turned it on its head, one nude fight scene is one thing, but the next one, I just start to wonder if Hardy is cold or not. I wouldn't say the experience is overwhelming, but after a while I was like: "Okay, I get it."

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