Hardy is a man with great acting diversity, both in skill and physical form. An actor who seems to take on the role and live and breathe through it. Bronson was surprisingly creative in its approach, an idea of the creative mixed with illness as felt through his eyes of Britains most violent prisoner.

Built around a once-in-a-lifetime bravura performance by Tom Hardy, "Bronson" boldly attempts to relate the story of a man who can't be understood: Michael Peterson a.k.a. Charlie Bronson – the United Kingdom's most notorious prisoner."Bronson" excels on the synchronicity of Hardy and director Nicolas Winding Refn (who also co-writes with Brock Norman Brock). These are two bold, distinctive artists who do not apologize for the abrasiveness of their particular creative leanings. Although a Bronson biopic would look good to most movie-goers on paper, their approach extends well beyond the box. It won't click with viewers who like more traditional storytelling, but their narrative and aesthetic choices are most fitting for a man who prides himself on not being able to be defined by others.The Peterson/Bronson character narrates this story as if giving a theatre monologue. In fact, there are a number of expository scenes that take place in a proscenium theater in which a dapper Bronson "performs" for an audience of rich and fancy types. This choice embraces the inherent theatricality of Bronson's behavior and while making the critical point that Bronson had and has a large degree of self-awareness. For a man who has spent most of his life in solitary confinement, it also makes sense that he might imagine his life through this lens of having an audience.The script follows chronological order by and large, but not in any explicit way or by using any clear cues. This echoes the unusual way that time passes – one must imagine – for Bronson. Time was never something he cared about, since he showed little desire to get released, and its passage has only been marked by his violent outbursts and transfers from one prison to the next.The notorious figure and enigma that is Bronson (now apparently named Charles Salvador after his love for Salvador Dali) is the film's focal point. Refn attempts to unlock whatever pieces of Bronson's psyche that he can, but from the angle that he too, like us, knows practically nothing about what makes this man tick. That places the real challenge on the monstrously large shoulders of Hardy. One understands exactly why this film launched Hardy's career, and that if the part had come his way during his rise to fame rather than being its cause, he would've easily been nominated for an Oscar if not the winner.Hardy captures the unpredictable yet in many ways predictable nature of Bronson, the way he is driven and calculated yet subservient to his desire for violence. We know exactly what he's capable of after a few scenes of throwing fists at prison guards, yet it doesn't make understanding why it happens any easier. Hardy magnifies that effect by shouting at times when we don't expect it – like really powerful shouting – and giving the character and his performance tremendous physicality.In a story full of violence and brutality, Refn makes a daring choice to ironically use classical pieces and Golden Age Hollywood- sounding music over many of the most graphic scenes. Yet he also uses electronic music too. Nothing is reminiscent of the time period depicted on screen. This could have easily been a dark, gritty and horrifying film accentuated by dark and gritty music, but the role of violence in Bronson's life is more complicated than "violence is awful." Music is a tool that Refn uses to alter our thinking around this person. Without it, we'd just be disturbed and bothered by this animalistic man we don't understand. Refn is giving us the tools to consider this man and his story with different perspectives."Bronson" never settles within us or gives us any satisfaction of epiphany. Instead, we are to take great joy in wrestling with this man (not literally, thank goodness) and wrestling with this film. That's a little antithetical to what most movies about an enigmatic figure attempt to do, but given the unbelievable nature of Charlie Bronson, it's fitting that Refn intentionally avoids that style of storytelling and opts for something enigmatic in and of itself.~Steven CThanks for reading! Visit Movie Muse Reviews for more

Bronson is a very interesting movie. It presents you with a character that seems to have a violence inherit in him, and a total disregard for authority, and does so in a way that make you understand him, despite the huge gap there is between his world and your own. You can see how the system he is a part of does not have a way of dealing with him. And you can also see how his motivations are not evil, no matter how much harm he has caused.I have little knowledge about the actual person this movie is based on, and my opinion on the character in the movie is not meant to be taken as a comment on him. I have no idea if the real life "Bronson" deserved the sympathy granted in him in this movie, but it does make for a very interesting picture.In addition to crafting this character, Refn also comments upon us an audience, as the character is multiple times addressing us directly (even with us represented on screen), and it adds a layer of exposing not only how Bronson appears, but how he chooses to represent himself.This reflected use of both violence and character makes the movie more than worth watching. When you on top of that get some great performances and a good soundtrack, you end up with a very good movie.

Apart from presenting Tom Hardy in one of the most brilliant, beautifully expressive acting gigs of his career, this movie displays a violent, true-events-based story through much powerful storytelling. By having the main character tell his own life story out to a full theater audience and, in doing so, become the narrator for the audience on the other side of the screen, the script manages to break down the violent tale into chunks, giving us room for air, meanwhile a rather exciting and invigorating version of Bronson entertains us with pure theatricality. The combination itself is such a strong concept, it enriches the film to a higher level. Nicholas Winding Refn is one genius director and screenwriter–and Tom Hardy is a complete delight!