Legend Movie Review
The gangster film genre has been around for almost one hundred years. It has slowly grown over that time with it becoming one of the more better film genres. Most gangster films are based on true stories including Goodfellas, Casino, Public enemies, and The Departed. However a new gangster flick has come up following London's infamous Kray twins, both played spectacularly by Tom Hardy (Mad Max Fury Road, Bronson). The film is written and directed by Brian Helgeland who also wrote L.A. Confidential back in 1997. The film also stars Emily Browning (Sucker Punch, A Series of Unfortunate Events) as Reggie Kray's wife, Frances, Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service) as Mad Teddy Smith, and Chazz Palmenteri (The Usual Suspects, A Bronx Tale) as Angelo Bruno.
The film serves as the rise and fall of London's most notorious gangsters, The Krays. Reggie is the "sane" one of the two. The film shows his romance with Frances Shea who was 16 in real life when they met. Ronald "Ron" Kray was the "crazy one. He was certified insane in 1979 and at the beginning of the film he is in a mental hospital for pathological violence and psychiactric instability. The film continues on with Ron getting jealous of Frances and tensions between the brothers growing. Eventually the film ends with Reggie being arrested. I will not spoil why.
It would have been interesting to continue on with the trial that went on in real life after the twins were arrested but it is understandable why they stopped the film where they did. The film is truly amazing. It boasts a great soundtrack featuring songs from the UK's own Duffy (she hasn't made a song since 2012) and features an OSCAR worthy performance from Tom Hardy. All of the supporting cast pull their own but Hardy really shines as Ron and Reggie. As the film goes on, you forget that both characters are played by the same person. Emily Browning is at her best in this role. She truly brings to life the inner conflict that Frances has with being married to a gangster. While the film does speed up real time, it does so with grace. It would have been nice to see certain events that had really happened such as Reggie meeting Charles Bronson (who was also played by Hardy in an earlier film) and Reggie marrying another woman who looks very similar to Frances. Also the film doesn't say what happens to Mad Teddy Smith. In reality he was killed by Ron (who was also his lover). There is a lot that could have been added to the film but the film is fantastic nonetheless. Definitely worth watching at least once for Hardy's performance.
