Best Drama Movies on Netflix Right Now (2020)

No. 50 – Bronson  (2008)

Written by: Brock Norman Brock and Nicolas Winding Refn

Directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn

Starring Tom Hardy, Matt King, James Lance, Amanda Burton

Taking place in 1970s Great Britain, Bronson follows the life of notorious, British criminal Michael Gordon Peterson. Peterson, played by Tom Hardy, is a lifelong criminal who became famous for continually starting fights and riots with the prison guards during his numerous stints in prison, and the film chronicles his life in and out of those prison sentences. After changing his name to “Charles Bronson” in order to gain better notoriety as a street fighter in East London, Peterson spends much of the movie either attempting to find some sort of happiness on the outside world through either love or art, or soliloquizing to the audience about his life up until that point as a way of breaking the fourth wall.

This is an easy Netflix choice, primarily, because of Hardy’s performance in it. It’s Tom Hardy at his most unhinged, and an extremely subtle performance of human vulnerability even though the character is never shy with words or with his manhood (you get the full Tom Hardy, let me just say). Refn, also known for directing Ryan Gosling’s Drive, is fantastic with his use of extended shots during many of the fight scenes in the movie.

It also makes the list because it remains one of the easiest movies to describe to a friend for them to watch. It doesn’t get much easier than describing a movie’s plot with, “the movie where Tom Hardy beats up a bunch of guards.” This is a weird one, no doubt.