Bronson

A prison warden looks straight at Charlie Bronson, and calmly informs him “you’re ridiculous”. In truth, Bronson ought to be just another common thug, but here he is, a charismatic mix of charm and thinly veiled madness, with the moustache of a Victorian circus ring announcer. Visually, Bronson is a startling example of surrealism, emulating the calm psychosis of A Clockwork Orange. Like Kubrick’s masterpiece, Nicholas Refn utilises powerful classical music to create poetry in his scenes of ultraviolence. There is a restrained atmosphere throughout, with unsettling sets bathed in bold primary colours. The light always finds Tom Hardy’s Bronson, leaving viewers with no question as to where their focus should be, while Hardy appears as both a talking head and a contemporary performance artist, narrating the story and berating the captivated audience Bronson’s craved all his life. Bronson proves to be a worthy student in the Kubrick school of extreme filmmaking. [Becky Bartlett]