Bronson review
Without lead actor Tom Hardy’s brilliant portrayal, Bronson would have very little merit.
That very little merit would be some of the director’s choices of artistically composed shots and routines but this kind of filmmaking would be more at home in pop promos or high-class TV ads. The problem is that this is pretty much a non-film with nothing to say, little in the way of plot and absolutely no character development. Even brief flashbacks of Bronson as a youngster show little more than him beating the crap out of people, which is pretty much all that happens, unchanged, for the rest of the film. With the violent theme, the time period it is set in, and some clear Kubrick influences, this has some (some) similarities to A Clockwork Orange. Only without any kind of message. At all.
Charlie Bronson the character may be interesting, but if this is the extent of his highlights, lowlights, and any mid-lights, his life, frankly, isn’t, and neither is this film.
19th Mar 2009
