Pictured: Too much neon?
Almost a decade after its release, Bronson stands as a turning point in Nicolas Winding Refn’s oeuvre: the last time he had any damn fun. Though the subject matter of Bronson is very much within Refn’s usual wheelhouse (gasp! a morally ambiguous, violent, hard-to-read main character!) there’s a sense of joy that’s almost entirely absent from say the stylish but vapid Drive or the overwrought (but very gorgeous) Only God Forgives. It also only has a trace or two of neon, which feels like a breath of fresh air after his last three releases. Those studiously woven quilts of music and lights which, depending on your mileage, either nicely contrast to the dark, exploitative subject matter or take away from the story-telling entirely. (I personally couldn’t even finish The Neon Demon — though I’m intent to give it another go!)
At this point it’s no question that Refn has a refined sense of what looks cool — but he seems to be struggling with defining his purpose as an artist. So some more annoying questions percolate the mind: What is his intent? His motivations? What does this aesthetic do to support the material? Is he just an idiot or is he really smart?
Thankfully, all these questions are absent from Bronson, an engaging, entertaining film that remains thoughtful and theatrical. Telling the story of Britain’s “most notorious prisoner” surprisingly forced Refn to hone in on some idea of narrative propulsion, so the thing is never a bore. Also, Refn really lets Tom Hardy go as deep as he wants into the role and the interplay between director and actor is great. Bronson still has hype-ass sequences set to synth-pop, but there is a grittiness to the film (maybe just the absence of neon?) which helps ground it somewhat in our own reality.
But perhaps what is greatest about Bronson is that the film never shies away from the limitless charisma and humor of it’s deplorable main character — and also never seeks to define why he is the way he is in the way that an Oscar Weepy would.
In short: It’s a great flick. Check it out!
Bronson
2008
dir. Nicolas Winding Refn
92 min.
Screens Friday, 5/19 at 11:59 pm @ Coolidge Corner Theatre.
