Bronson

Colour, 35 mm
United Kingdom, 2008, 92 min
Section: Another View

Synopsis

Michael Peterson, better known under the nickname Charles Bronson, was born in Aberystwyth, Wales in 1952. He was first sent to prison 22 years later for holding up a post office. With the exception of being released for short periods, he has remained behind bars, with nearly three decades of his life spent in solitary confinement or a high-security psychiatric hospital. Today this notoriously violent and celebrated British prisoner is best known for his exceptional physical condition, as well as his well-regarded poetry and art. Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn has stylized the brutal aggression and over-the-top madness of an uncontrollable sociopath into a bewitchingly surreal biopic. He transforms episodes from Bronson’s life, acted with utter conviction by the outstanding Tom Hardy, into a kind of vaudevillian nightmare. This artistically gripping explosion of style, interlaced with a generous dose of irony, is accompanied by a soundtrack which includes the works of Wagner, Verdi, and Pet Shop Boys.

About the director

Nicolas Winding Refn (b. 1970, Copenhagen), Danish screenwriter, director, and producer, was accepted at Copenhagen’s Danish Film School after spending his late childhood in New York. While at school he shot a short film which earned him a grant to turn the short into a feature. The cult movie Pusher (1996) was the result, one of the most noteworthy debuts of the 1990s. Bleeder followed three years later (shown at the KVIFF in 2000), a no less controversial horror flick starring two of the director’s favorite actors, Kim Bodnia and Mads Mikkelsen. Pusher’s success led to two sequels, in 2004 and 2005 respectively. In the meantime, Refn managed to shoot his first English language film, Fear X, with John Turturro playing the lead (KVIFF 2003). Since 2006 he has been working on an adventure spectacular set in Viking times, Valhalla Rising, a project he laid aside when unexpectedly offered the chance to shoot the life of a man nicknamed Charles Bronson.