Bronson

(Refn, 2009)

Prior to making this film, Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn had written and directed a number of modest thrillers, including the well-received Danish language Pusher trilogy. With Bronson, Refn has taken on the story of one of the most notorious criminals alive today.

Born Michael Gordon Peterson, the man now better known as Charlie Bronson was jailed for seven years at the age of 22, and due to his actions since then has spent the past 34 years behind bars. Seemingly a born scrapper, Bronson was in trouble with the authorities from a young age and would turn to brawling in the face of any perceived authority figure.

Bronson stars Tom Hardy, who has previously put in strong, if minor showings in a number of British and American action films. He’s played everything from Star Trek baddies to homosexual gangsters, but his centre stage performance here showcases the actor’s unmistakable leading man credentials, and plenty more besides.

The film is based on the real Bronson’s life, but obviously contains some creative embellishments. To read tale of the man himself, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was a work of fiction. As with Mark ‘Chopper’ Read and the film of his life, you’d be hard put to find anyone – even the films’ subjects – who could tell you exactly where the line between fact and fantasy had been drawn.

After a brief segment dealing with Bronson/Peterson’s childhood, the film arrives at his conviction and imprisonment for armed robbery in short order. It is at this point where we begin to get an idea of the dynamic between the ‘real’ Bronson and the decidedly unhinged, violence-loving alter-ego who allegedly directs his actions. Hardy, as Bronson, relates to an imaginary audience how he always wanted to be famous for something and, lacking the ability to sing or to act, figured prison life would give him the perfect alternative.

Bronson is soon trading blows with prison guards at the drop of a hat, seemingly unfazed by the superior numbers, weaponry and protective clothing of his opponents. Nobody can figure him out, much less control him, but they’re certainly determined to try and before long, Bronson has seen the inside of all of Britain’s toughest prisons and institutions.

Bronson is a highly stylized biopic seasoned with equal doses of comedy and horror. While certain scenes are obviously played up for the sake of entertainment, Bronson is presented in neither a sympathetic nor a disparaging light. We’re merely shown highlights from the life of a person who has never actually killed anyone, but is still considered far too dangerous to be let free.

Hardy put on at least 15 pounds of muscle for this role, and spent time with the film’s subject in order to borrow his mannerisms. His performance is intense, at times comical and others fiercely intimidating. The music is subtle but very effective in setting the mood, and the fight scenes are brutal, often with a completely nude Hardy swinging in more ways than one.

While it’s a great character study, beyond the (numerous) fight scenes and occasional snippet of personal development there really isn’t much of a story to speak of. All the same, it’s worth seeing both for Hardy’s incredible acting and to get a fleeting glimpse at the life of a truly unique and remarkable – if terrifying – human being.

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tl;dr: Tom Hardy gives a blistering performance, and the film as a whole is an unrelenting and stylish affair. Not a thorough or entirely faithful story of the life of Britain’s most expensive prisoner, but eminently watchable all the same.

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Inception

(Nolan, 2010)

The trick to reviewing films like Inception is that while the viewer should be made aware of the film’s strengths and complexities, this is the kind of cinematic event where going in blind greatly enriches the viewer’s experience. To the studio’s credit, even with the many months of pre-release hype they still made the effort to keep as much of the film’s premise under wraps as they could.

In brief, then: Inception revolves around a plot to infiltrate the dreams of the heir to an energy conglomerate, plant an idea in his subconscious and manipulate him in the real world. The task falls to a man named Cobb, who has been living in exile from his family and home due to a tragic event in his past. Cobb is a veteran of this kind of work, although it is generally accepted that stealing an idea from someone in this fashion is far easier than planting one, so much so that the process – known as inception – has only ever been carried out once before, by Cobb himself. To this end, he recruits a team of specialists to help him create a convincing dream world in order to fool the victim into going along with Cobb’s intentions.

Leonardo DiCaprio, as Cobb, heads up an absolutely staggering cast, every one of whom gives a superb performance here. Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been one of my favourite actors since I saw him in Brick, and only continues to rise in my estimation with this compelling performance. Ellen Page is solid as the dream architect, and the striking Tom Hardy – last seen as the title character in Bronson – is another one to watch out for. The supporting cast is wonderfully fleshed-out, including Ken Watanabe as Cobb’s calculating employer and a subtly unnerving performance by the excellent Marion Cotillard.

The story twists, flips and turns on its head in the course of the film, juggling multiple narratives which interweave flawlessly as the virtual heist progresses. Given that the premise here is the rooted in the depth of dreams and complex nature of human subconscious, Nolan should be commended for managing to pull off a truly stunning, dare I say epic tale without having to resort to tired clichés or borrow too heavily from the films that clearly influenced it (Dark City and Eternal Sunshine… spring to mind). The film keeps the viewer guessing right until the very end, layering the tension while dazzling its audience with cinematic sleight-of-hand before reeling everyone in and asking them if they can tell how it was done.

It’s not all high-brow, mind you. Given Nolan’s recent pedigree, you’d be right to expect ample explosions, sweeping panoramas and mind-blowing special effects, and Inception does not disappoint. The gun-fights on display here effortlessly set the bar for future action films of any genre, and they didn’t even feel the need to tack on sloppy 3-D effects. It’s an unquestionably beautiful film and, while it clocks in at two and a half hours, I didn’t feel like they wasted a single moment. It would be remiss of me not to mention Hans Zimmer’s typically outstanding score, which expertly accentuates both the dramatic and the ethereal with equal panache.

A number of the reviews I’ve read since watching Inception have criticised the film for being confusing. Granted, the plot is by no means straightforward, but Inception is a rare example of a film with a genuinely good story that manages to tie up all its loose ends and STILL remain ambiguous enough to invite audience debate after the credits roll. It’s not confusing if you pay attention; it’s merely open to interpretation. The balance is struck perfectly, and the film-making world might sit up and take notes if it wants a masterclass in how to fix what is wrong with modern cinema. It doesn’t take a remake, a sequel or a complete re-hash to deliver the most intelligent and compelling summer film in years.

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tl;dr: Nolan brings us an action blockbuster wrapped within a metaphor-laden arthouse film. It’s Bay meets Bergman, but in a really, really good way. Beautiful, thought-provoking, exceptionally well-acted and hands-down my favourite new film this year.

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