Review of Legend (2015) by Michael R — 25 Aug 2016

Tom Hardy shines playing the twin role of both Reggie and Ronnie Kray in this biopic tale about the infamous gangsters in 1960's London.

This is very much a Tom Hardy vehicle and the role of Reggie Kray fits Hardy like a glove as the suaver more charismatic brother. However it's his role as the psychotic Ronald Kray which displays Hardy's acting ability most. Although at the start you are distracting by the accent and likeness to the Peter O'Hanrahahanrahan character from The Day Today. Although you soon forget about this as you witness the true madness of Ronald as he goes from extremes of calm serenity to a ball of unpredictable rage.

Performances aside, the story is a pretty flat and formulaic one. It is very stylish but that's all it is. The main problem is that it tries to celebrate the atrocities of these two individuals and even tries to get you to sympathize with them.

The film is narrated by Reggie's wife, Frances played by Emily Browning which is a strange choice and one that a lot of critics have had a problem with considering she doesn't witness the events she's commenting on, plus there is a certain saccharine to what she says and overall the narration proves unnecessary. If it had come from the Kray's mother it might have added more but we are only introduced to her part way through the movie and never really get any insight into character. As a character Frances is underplayed and you never get a feeling that she truly begins to hate the man she falls in love with.

In the end this film tries to be the English version of Goodfellas but made for an American audience with over the top performances from secondary cast members and a glamorization of these two monsters.

The violence is not gratuitous and strangely there is a lot of humour in the film, this just feels like a missed opportunity to delve deeper into the lives of these two criminals.