Bronson Poster analysis

THis is the poster for the British independent film Bronson. The film centres around the character of Bronson, a notoriously violent British prisoner. Lots of things in the poster show parts of it narrative, focus, and stylistic approach.

The main focus within the poster is the character Bronson. His composition is central, showing that he is the protagonist for the film. The lack of anything else, or any other people in the poster adds a sense of solitarily, which corresponds with the fact that he is a prisoner. His stance looks somewhat victorious, as though he has just won something. This is further shown with the overhead lights shining down on him. The lights add a professional feel, and make him look like a champion, they also highlight the fact that he is the protagonist. They give the only colour in the poster, using mostly gold and yellow tones which add a sense of fame and notoriety about this character. It also hints at the more stylistic approach taken by the director when making the film. His head is tilted upwards so that he is looking slightly down at the camera. This could suggest that he is very self-centred or that he has a large ego, and the fact that he looks down whilst still composed at eye level suggests that while he thinks great of himself, others do not. Further down in the poster, his hands are wrapped much like a boxer would wrap their hands, only there are blood stains on them. This metaphor of blood being on his hands shows that this character is very violent and dangerous, setting him apart from regular boxers he is imitating due to his increased violence. As well as blood on his hands, there is blood on his chest, further showing the characters extreme violence.

The title font is all in capitals, making it bold and stand out. it goes with the rest of the posters colour wave of yellow/gold tones. Again, this adds to the feeling of fame and notoriety. The font has a certain metallic feel to it, it looks like cast metal. This is used both to show when the film is set, being in the twentieth century, and to add to this sense of the film being raw and hard hitting, as shown with the violence implied by the character in the frame. Underneath is more text in the same style, reading 'The Man The Myth The Celebrity'. This adds to the fact that the protagonist has a degree of fame and notoriety about him. It also hints that this is based on a real person. The change to the well known phrase 'the man the myth the legend' suggests that he is not your typical famous person and hints that his story and rise to fame is is alternative.