Great performance by Tom Hardy!

A poster quote proclaims "A Clockwork Orange for the 21st Century"; a big call. I totally understand where they are coming from, right from the get go it has a feel to it that is reminiscent, but it lacks the wider social commentary. Tom Hardy is Michael Gordon Peterson, the most notorious and violent prisoner in England. The film follows his calculated rise to infamy, along the way taking the moniker “Charles Bronson”. For as long as he could remember he wanted to be famous; he couldn’t sing, couldn’t act, but he sure could fight. At 19 he was sentenced to 7 years for robbing a post office, but his actions inside led to him being confined in a succession of prisons and institutions for 34 years, 30 in solitary. He saw prison as his hotel and he flourished. Hardy is remarkable, bringing gravity to both the role of Bronson the prisoner and the Bronson the narrator. As the narrator he stands on a stage before a black tie audience. I found this aspect fascinating, with insight to his mental state. He is theatrical and funny, but unhinged and can turn in a heartbeat. The sense of A Clockwork Orange sits firmly with Director of Photography Larry Smith who cut his teeth working on Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon, The Shining and Eyes Wide Shut (too often overlooked). It is a dark film, but skilfully Smith never lets anything get lost into the murk; he frames shots with deep black, particularly the narration, which draw you close and puts you in the room with the increasingly unstable Bronson. Remarkable. Totally Convicted!

amazing performance by tom hardy even if i would have liked to see his penis a little bit less

I'm a sucker for bio-pic flicks so I gave this one a watch. I wasn't disappointed but I can't give the film more than a "meh" rating simply because that's how it left me feeling. The fact that it's based on the real-life person of Michael Peterson/Charlie Bronson is rather fascinating, but to me, the film version just kind of felt a bit flat. Kudos to Tom Hardy for a superb acting job; he did absolutely excellent. I'm not sorry I watched it…definitely not one of those _"I just wasted how many minutes of my life"_ movies…but it just wasn't my particular cuppa tea (pun intended). As a person who has struggled with feelings of rejection/loneliness/lack of purpose in my own life (since childhood), it was easy for me to see how/why this quiet, unassuming man could slowly devolve into the lunatic alter ego that he became. You never really know what's going on behind the facade that we're all forced to wear on a daily basis…

“Bronson” reconstructs the life of Britain’s most famous inmate in a stylish, deadpan humor-infused fashion. The film goes around in circles for its whole time, but is quite entertaining indeed. Despite the extreme violence, the dance scene in the psychiatric facility somehow manages to be the real climax. I also found the various narration scenes at the theatre to be very tasteful. Everything is on Tom Hardy’s shoulders, but he pulled it off perfectly.