Sundance Day 7: BRONSON, WORLD'S GREATEST DAD reviewed!
The Lineup of Day 7 began with BRONSON, the newest film by Nicolas Winding Refn based on the life of Britains most notorious and brutal prison inmate with the boxing nickname Charles Bronson (after the actor). The Danish directors PUSHER film series has earned him cult status as a master of aestheticizing violence and BRONSON is certainly no exception.
BRONSON is a creative, ethereal portrait of the man born Michael Peterson whose plight as a prison inmate is mostly self-induced. As a young man with an addiction to inflicting physical detriment and raising havoc, Peterson is arrested for armed robbery and receives a seven-year prison sentence. Unable to keep his savage behavior at bay, Peterson spends the majority of the next 34 years in solitary confinement where he works to fine tune his art of violence.
Refns BRONSON can be considered an experimental biopic in the same vein as Copollas MARIE-ANTOINETTE, as in both cases the real life narrative becomes merely a point of reference for a primarily aesthetic, atmospheric project.
The dazzling production design is by far the most impressive element of the film, as Refn interweaves 1970s British nostalgia with a minimalist, hallucinatory theatre sequence symbolic of the inner workings of Petersons mind. The films opening scene of the unruly schoolboy version of Peterson must have been inspired by the directors own experiences, as Refn himself was expelled from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts after throwing a desk against a wall.
Despite a fair amount of violence, the beautiful cinematography by seasoned pro Larry Smith softens the graphic nature of the film, with the exception of one cringe-worthy scene in which Bronson watches on as one of his cellmates defecates into his hand and proceeds to smear it all over his face.
Thomas Hardy gives a riveting performance as the multi-faceted, mentally unstable Bronson, but his best efforts cant save the fact that the film has no real story or arc, which makes the pace feel painfully slow, despite the stunning visuals and a killer soundtrack (featuring everything from British New Wave, punk and electronica, to the Pet Shop Boys, to Wagner).
While destined to be well-received by Refns fan base and admired for its unique mise-en-scène, BRONSON's bizarre genre and lack of cohesiveness will leave many dazed and confused.
With its hallmark greeting card title and starring bill of Robin Williams, WORLDS GREATEST DAD had me expecting a cheesy, family style comedy. To my pleasant surprise, the prediction couldnt have been further from the truth. The director Bobcat Goldthwait doesnt even seem to like kids at all and after the screening he quipped to the audience (which included a high school field trip from Denver) that teenagers are idiots and that making films geared for a tween audience is setting the bar very low.
Hailed by some critics as Robin Williams best performance to date, WORLDS GREATEST DAD is a dark comedy about Lance, a middle aged high school poetry teacher who dreams of becoming a famous writer and feels threatened by the success of his younger, more popular colleague whom he fears will sweep away his gorgeous teacher-girlfriend Claire (Alexie Gilmore). Lance also struggles as a single parent of a perverted, dim-witted teenage son named Kyle (Daryl Sabara) who spends all his free time masturbating and looking up porn on the Internet. When Kyle dies accidentally while in a compromising position, Lance makes the incident look like suicide and is presented with the opportunity to use his writing as a means of redeeming his sons shaky reputation.
The concept behind this film is pure genius, as is a lot the dialogue, which flows naturally and reflects the wit of screenwriter/director Goldthwait (who unsurprisingly began his career as a comedian).. Goldthwait succeeds in his ability to maintain a delicate balance between tragedy and comedy throughout the film, which is further strengthened by a well-rounded soundtrack. Despite being a bit too literal at times (one of the songs titles is dont be afraid, youre already dead), the musical score acts as a buffer for the more emotional scenes of the film and keeps the tone from getting too depressing.
While the screening was a thoroughly enjoyable experience, the real treat was listening to Goldthwaits Q and A session following the film, which could have easily passed for a stand-up comedy act. In addition to trash-talking young people, Goldthwait joked about earning a spot at Sundance despite his controversial track record (his last feature STAY involves a sexual encounter between a woman and a dog) and he finished with the unforgettable one-liner move over LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, here comes my auto-erotic asphyxiation comedy! A big talent with an even bigger personality, Goldthwait and his work are not to be missed.