Review by The Yard
Bronson is a 2008 movie, based loosely on the book of the same name, written by Michael Peterson also known as Charles Bronson, and first published in 2000.
The movie is an artistic madhouse. Tom Hardy does a masterful job portraying Charlie Bronson, Britain’s most violent prison inmate.
The movie loosely covers the book which Charlie wrote about his time in prisons and mad houses all over Britain. The autobiographical book goes through a lot of years so the movie is crushed down to try and tell the tale. It does a good job of it.
Basically Charlie went to prison for robbery. He got seven years and because he refused to submit to authority, ended up spending decades in prisons and insane asylums, while the system tried to break him.
He killed no one. But his crime was a refusal to be disrespected and submit to their authority.
He fought them in every way he could. And the system drove him insane, while they became just as insane in their efforts to force him to submit.
Tom Hardy and the films director, Nicholas Winding Refn, do an awesome job showing this. The script was written by the director and Brock Norman Brock.
Tom Hardy talked with Charlie and wanted to play him from the first time they met. Charlie has also endorsed Hardy’s portrayal of him. In his book, “Diaries From Hell” Bronson says he is proud of him. “You wouldn’t want to meet him down a dark alley at 3am. Tom looks more like me than I look like me.” Charlie said.
Not only has Hardy played Michael Peterson AKA Charles Bronson, which is Peterson’s fighting name. But, Tom also played the Kray twins in the movie “Legend”. the Kray’s were locked up in the same prisons as Charlie and ran into him on many occasions. Charlie mentions meeting them several times in his book, “Bronson”. And Reggie Kray gave a word in Charlie’s book before Reggie died in 2000.
It’s interesting that Hardy has played all three real life people.
Bronson is a hardcore prison movie about a hardcore person. Be prepared.
Further Reading and Sources:
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/revisiting-bizarre-conversations-between-tom-hardy-and-charles-bronson/
https://movieweb.com/tom-hardy-bronson-movie-masterpiece/
https://www.vice.com/en/article/vva5nb/how-tom-hardy-prepared-to-play-charles-bronson
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronson_(film)
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