Legend-2015

Director Brian Helgeland

Starring Tom Hardy

Scott’s Review #405

Reviewed May 24, 2016

Grade: B+

Tom Hardy is one of my favorite modern film actors (he should have won the 2015 Oscar for his riveting performance in The Revenant, in my humble opinion), and in Legend (2015) fans get a dual role from the handsome Brit.

Hardy portrays Reggie and Ronald Kray, two of London’s most feared and brutal gangsters.

The film belongs to Hardy in every way, shape, and form; the London locales are fantastic, and more than one scene is jaw-droppingly violent, but the film meanders quite a bit, and Ron Kray’s vocals are hard to understand.

Still, it’s a impressive effort overall.

The time is late 1950s London. Reggie Kray, the more mainstream of the Kray brothers, is a feared member of the organized crime community.

His mother coddles him and can do no wrong in her eyes. This makes any relationships difficult as his mum disapproves of his mates.

He falls in love with Frances Shea, a young woman who narrates most of the film, so it is told from an outsider’s perspective. Reggie’s brother Ron has recently been released from a mental hospital and, if off his medications, is certifiably crazy and very volatile.

He is gay and makes no bones about it.

Ron and Reggie have a love/hate relationship, and this dynamic is the most interesting aspect.

Thanks to Hardy, and because the writing isn’t Legend’s strongest suit, we see two very different characters, even though they look alike.

In the many scenes shared between the brothers, it seems two actors are playing the roles, to Hardy’s credit.

An important scene emphasizes their relationship. When a rival dares to mention Reggie’s wife’s name disparagingly, he points a gun and fires at the man’s head.

Fortunately, the gun is unloaded, and the audience breathes a sigh of relief. Yet, a worse fate awaits the victim.

After the deed is done, Reggie whispers in Ron’s ear that he killed the man “because I can’t kill you.”

This means Reggie would kill Ron if he could- shocking since they are brothers. To add to this, it is implied that he would kill his brother with the same savagery as his victim.

This makes the audience ponder.

Ron’s sexuality is impressive, especially since he isn’t written stereotypically. He is brutal, masculine, and hardcore. It’s important to note that Ron Kray was a real figure.

His entourage of boyfriends follows him around out of devotion.

Who can blame them? His charisma oozes; think of an unstable James Bond.

The twins’ relationship is the best part of the film, but as a mob film, Legend meanders quite a bit, so much that it becomes hard to see the point, if not for Hardy.

Aside from Frances, none of the supporting characters are interesting and are all rather forgettable.

The wonderful Chazz Palminteri is wasted in the role of Angelo Bruno, head of a Philadelphia crime family and friend of the Krays. His role has little meaning or interest.

A mediocre story, but with deep leading characters, Legend (2015) is an interesting film that flies under the radar and gets little notice.

Hopefully, if nothing else, it continues the success that Tom Hardy is currently achieving in modern film.