Bronson

Helmed by Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn, this brutal biopic tells the story of tough guy Charles Bronson. But not the Charles Bronson you are thinking of - star of "The Magnificent Seven" and "Death Wish", No this is a much tougher nut, Charles Bronson - 'Britain's most violent prisoner'.

Born Michael Gordon Petersen, a run of the mill petty criminal, Bronson grew up on Merseyside and then moved to Luton, where he worked as a circus strongman. After dabbling in bare knuckle boxing and changing his name to that of the actor's, Bronson then staged a robbery at a tobacconist that was such a bungle, you'd expect Zippy and George to have joined in the fun. Indeed, the job was such a fiasco, that the hard man made off with less money than is currently in the Treasury - a mere £26.

But prison has often been the making of men, and, in a sense, this was the case for Bronson. Once there, he repeatedly attacked inmates and guards alike, resulting in his seven year sentence being extended indefinitely. Now 35 years on, Bronson remains in prison, having spent all but four months at Her Majesty's Pleasure (though not her Majesty's guards') in a total of 120 establishments, with the majority of that time in solitary confinement. So probably not the best person to bring home to your mum.

Remarkably, despite the limited storyline and odious nature of the subject, Nicolas Winding Refn's film is a compelling piece. Rather than all out violence, though there is certainly plenty of it on offer, Refn structures the piece as a monologue on stage, intercut with scenes of brutality - sometimes quite beautifully shot. However, the film would be nothing were it not for the stellar performance from its lead, Tom Hardy. Indeed, the young actor's turn is as breathtaking as a horticultural class for a bunch of asthmatics. With a remarkable physical transformation, Hardy, the star of "Stuart: A Life Backwards" and "RocknRolla", gives a real tour de force, and although the film is largely forgettable, Hardy's performance is not.