Rent Bronson (2009)

Tom Hardy’s best performance in a wildly original, if uneven film - Bronson review by TB

For people in the UK, Charles Bronson evokes many different reactions. For many, he is simply Britain’s most violent prisoner, responsible for multiple hostage-takings and criminal damage/prison protests. Enormous amounts of media coverage has followed him and the mythology which has built up around him means that this image has kept evolving and reaching new heights of absurdity. A recent documentary (2023) which was produced, leading up to his parole hearing, the first public one in British courts, also was very honest in showing that a lot of these outrageous news stories were made up by Bronson himself. But this film from 2008 also provided in many ways a highly stylised, but very loose with the facts biopic, to add yet another dimension to the Bronson myth.

But there is also no getting away from it, this film does not in any way show Bronson in a good light. Whilst there is humour aplenty from the different situations that are portrayed; some truthful, others expanding on the various stories and apocryphal linked to him, none of them leave you in any doubt that this is an extremely dangerous & unstable man. There is absolutely an argument that could be made about how the system brutalised him and in some way turned him into the monster he now is, but that falls apart quite quickly, especially with Bronson himself both in the film and in real life saying with massive enthusiasm the joy he had in causing absolute carnage and chaos. The man is quite simply a total psycho and I do think it was right that his parole was denied.

Bronson (the film) very clearly follows in the vein of A Clockwork Orange, with extreme violence set to classical music the most obvious comparison. The film also tries to spend a decent amount of time showing Bronson outside prison when he was released for a short period. But the vast majority takes place within the various prisons around the country. I do like that the prisons are shown as at times horrific places, with brutal punishment dished out by the screws. And welcomingly, there is a real focus on the horror of a psychiatric hospital, as well as the extreme creativity/masterful artist Bronson is.

But the standout is and always will be Tom Hardy’s performance. It is a staggering, off-the-wall, fearless and brilliant performance. This film would totally fail without him and his commitment, which included 2 false starts to filming where he bulked up for the role, only for the project to fall through and him having to lose the weight/muscle to do other parts before putting it all back on again. But his voice, built up from thousands of hours of phone calls and meet-ups with the real Bronson; his body which he transformed to be able to convincingly play him and his characterisation are flawless. My star rating is also mainly based on his performance, as the actual film itself is in many ways quite one-note.

Definitely a fantastic watch, but not something which really gets to the heart of Bronson as a man, other than someone who liked to cause carnage and is an extremely talent artist.

Erm....not the best - Bronson review by CP Customer

I thought Bronson was going to be a classic violent prison thriller but I was sadly mistaken. The violence was certainly there but there was nothing to thrill me, nothing to keep me on the edge of my seat - a weird story line, which jumps in and out of the insane capped off a poor movie.

Excellent biopic - Bronson review by PV

This excellent biopic wilol not doubt confuse some people - it is not straightforward and uses various devices to give an impression of this man's sad life. I liked this. I did not fond it pretentious or boring at all. And the acting is top notch - the actor playing Bronson gets it just right. I would recommend this film - and perhaps would even say it should be shown in schools so kids know that crime or prison is not glamorous at all! Recommended.