Bronson

How would you make a name for yourself? Michael Peterson’s clever idea was to rob a post office. And he might have got away with it too (the whole £26.18) if he hadn't been so easily caught. Sentenced to 7 years, 34 years on, Peterson, who has now renamed himself as Charles Bronson, still remains behind bars. Due to his violent behaviour, 30 of those years were spent in solitary confinement. Delusions creep into his mind and his celebrity alter-ego takes hold…

Based on a true story, this film is a biopic of the legend that is “Britain’s most violent prisoner” Charles Bronson, infamously known for hostage-taking and the brutality he demonstrated on his prison guards. Hardy can be praised for his performance as Bronson, for which he completely transformed his physical appearance. He plays the eccentric and menacing character well, drawing the audience in so we almost feel on side with this interesting anti-hero. His facial expressions and body language really give the scripted words shape and transforms them into mesmerizing scenes almost so you feel he really is this mentally disturbed man who currently resides in Her Majesty’s Prison system.

Many commend the film on its distinct echoes of A Clockwork Orange but with a modern take and more hard-hitting effect, due to the truth which lies behind it. Dutch director Refn does not attempt to show reason behind Bronson’s madness in this black comedy but rather shows the harsh reality of the state of mind encompassed in prisoners such as Charles Bronson, something the British public might be quick to ignore.

So if you’re one for British history with the same shock as our medieval ways or even just one for current events, prepare to be gobsmacked, horrified but weirdly entertained…

Samilia Ekeocha