In 1974, a 17-year-old British bloke named Michael Peterson was sentenced to seven years in the slammer for a robbery in which nobody was hurt.
It’s hard to believe then that Peterson, the focus of “Bronson,” went on to spend 34 years in prison, 30 of them in solitary confinement for unbecoming conduct in prison.
Tom Hardy gives an amazing performance as Peterson, who took on the nickname Charlie Bronson, after the “Death Wish” actor.
The no-holds-barred direction is by Denmark’s Nicolas Winding Refn, who has achieved cult notoriety with his ultra-violent “Pusher” trilogy.
Peterson, whose behavior in prison could best be described as bestial — slugging it out with guards, for instance — seems to have a bit in common with Refn, who was expelled from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in New York for throwing a desk against a classroom wall.
Refn films much of the violence in slow motion, accompanied by classical music, which adds impact to the brutality.
Hardy — with a shaved head, handlebar mustache and bare chest — lends authority to his role just by his appearance. (Hardy’s character has been likened to Malcolm McDowell’s as the amoral Alex in Stanley Kubrick’s classic “A Clockwork Orange.”)
Peterson/Bronson isn’t without redeeming social value. He has, according to the production notes, shown no signs of violence for the past seven years and has been judged clinically sane.
He also has won awards for his poetry and art.
He obviously possesses above-average intelligence. These facts raise the question of whether 34 years (think of it) in solitary constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. Even Gandhi might have turned violent under those conditions.