Hardy’s amazing turn is a ‘Legend,’ but film is not
Tales of crime and gangsterdom often are tinged with a seedy glamour. “Legend,” the story of Ronald and Reggie Kray — twin brothers who were kingpins of the London underworld at the height of the Swinging ’60s — is no exception, but it adds a bit of psychodrama to the numerous books and movies based on the brothers’ exploits.
“Legend” director Brian Helgeland adapted the screenplay from John Pearson’s book “The Profession of Violence,” and the
There is a mad, creative energy to his performance that is sorely lacking everywhere else in themovie.
movie attempts to tell the story of the Krays from the vantage point of Frances Shea, the local girl who married Reggie. This approach creates overlapping intersections of loyalty and affection among the brothers, their shady business ventures and Frances.
Helgeland, who wrote and directed the Jackie Robinson biopic “42” and became a co-Oscar winner for the screenplay of “L.A. Confidential” (1997) here never fully connects the personal side of the Krays to their criminal mythology.
So “Legend” is first and foremost the launching pad for a wild dual-character performance by Tom Hardy as both Reggie and Ronald. Playing the identical twins, he genuinely comes across in his performances as different people, so completely does he transform himself, to create a distinct physicality as well as personality for each brother.
There is a mad, creative energy to his performance that is sorely lacking everywhere else in the movie.
Reggie is dashing and the more fully functioning of the two, adding a touch of movie-star charm as he climbs to Frances’ window with flowers and sweets. Ronald, who lived an openly gay lifestyle and would be diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, is more lumbering and volatile, though given to moments of uneasy lightness, seen when he dances clumsily at a Christmas party that ends violently.
Australian actress Emily Browning has the relatively thankless task of playing Frances. Her smallframed physique makes for an intriguing visual counterbalance; Hardy essentially engulfs her wherever they are standing close to one another. But the story never gives her much to do besides be wooed, then wait around.
Once again in choosing to play the Kray brothers, Hardy seems driven to deny the handsome-leading-man parts that would surely come his way, preferring instead roles that allow him to dirty or disguise himself. He seemed uneasy in the Reese Witherspoon rom-com espionage vehicle “This Means War,” his most conventional role. And even in taking on the title role in this year’s “Mad Max: Fury Road,” he spent much of the movie with a mask strapped to his face.
An opening voice-over by Frances (who narrates throughout the film) tells us the era is the 1960s, and no real sense of time passing occurs after that. If the idea is that the world of the Krays was some kind of bubble, impervious to outside influence, a clearer indication is needed.
The intense bond between the brothers makes it difficult for someone else to wedge in, perhaps dooming Reggie and Frances’ relationship from the start. While mapping their unusual triangle, the movie seems almost to tack on the mechanics of the Krays’ underworld business and a turf war with another British gang. Also, dealings with the American mob to launder bearer bonds and establish a foothold in the world of U.K. casinos feel awkwardly added in.
The story follows a fairly conventional arc, until it winds up with hubris, death and prison. The ending feels more dutiful than tragic. Even the film’s excursions into violence seem oddly noncommittal, though a centerpiece fight between Reggie and Ronald allows for a nifty bit of camera trickery.
The Krays themselves helped cultivate the myths that sprouted around them. But as told by Helgeland, this story isn’t memorable enough to be dubbed “Legend.” And unfortunately, the tremendous acting effort by Hardy is undermined by the film’s unfocused storytelling.