Worth a Watch for Hardy's Dual Performances Alone

Rating: 6/10 (11 November 2016)

Right on the heels of having watched BLACK MASS, here came another movie based on gangsters past with LEGEND. Whereas I had a rough start with BLACK MASS and found myself enjoying it a bit more on a refresh viewing, I wasn't as keen on LEGEND even after I gave it some time to settle in my head and went back for a second round. The pieces are in place for an awesome period gangster film but I really think writer/director Brian Helgeland made a mistake when he chose to focus a significant part of the movie on the relationship subplot. If we could've spent more time with our main characters and their illicit organization, I think it would've made for a stronger film. LEGEND is based on real life criminals Ron and Reggie Kray. The Kray brothers, identical twins, started as minor criminals on the streets of London and, by the time the swinging '60s were in full gear, had built a successful criminal empire and taken on a sort of partnership with the American Mafia in hopes of making London into the next Las Vegas. The movies focuses on the Krays' rise to power and the circumstances under which it eventually came crashing down, as well as devoting equal time to the relationship between Reggie and Frances Shea. Frances was the sister to one of the brothers' underlings and, according to the film, the two of them were in love until Reggie's business and loyalty to his mentally ill brother drove them apart.
I'll start with the parts of LEGEND that worked for me. For starters, I'm instantly drawn into any period piece set in the '60s. The 1960s were a crazy time for everything from politics to pop culture so count me in. Combine that with setting of the London criminal underground and I'm sold. The production design on the movie is impressive. The clothing and cars of the period mixed with the elegance and style with which the brothers ran their operation make LEGEND a good-looking film. The brothers are portrayed by Tom Hardy in a dual role. This is probably the most impressive part of the movie. Hardy is already one of my top tier favorite actors and this gave him a chance to try something trickier than the average movie as he had to play against himself. Despite that he's playing identical twins, Hardy infuses each of them with bold, unique personalities that you're never confused as to which brother is on screen. Reggie is the slick one. He's the brains of the operation and handles most of the actual business affairs. He is thewellthe normal one. If it weren't for his brother, his character may very well have gone the straight route and abandoned his criminal life for Frances. Ron, on the other hand, is the fun one. I freaking loved Hardy's performance as Ron. Ron is certifiably insane. Our introduction to him comes when Reggie is helping Ron get out of court-appointed mental health care for a violent crime he'd committed. Ron is open about his homosexuality in a time when it was still a crime to be such in England but, seeing as how the man is a dangerous beast, he doesn't have to worry about fallout from it. Hardy gives Ron a sort of speech impediment where he always sounds as if he's speaking through clenched teeth, which only adds to the strange nature of the character. He's a simple man who would be perfectly happy giving up the brothers' illegal businesses in favor of going back to the old fashion ways of beating people out of protection money. It's fantastic and the best part of the movie.
Seriously, just watch the scene where the Krays arrive at a pub to meet with the heads of a rival gang and find themselves instead faced with a crew of their enforcers ready to pummel them. It perfectly illustrates the differing personalities of the brothers and Ron's tantrum over his hopes for a shootout is just hilarious.
But all is not well with LEGEND. As much as I enjoyed a lot of the individual parts of the film, the movie as a whole is pretty underwhelming and the majority of its problems arise, in my opinion, from the script. As I mentioned, the movie spends equal time focusing on the Krays' criminal dealings and on Reggie's relationship with Frances. I understand it was probably done this way to humanize Reggie a bit and give the audience someone a little more normal in the main role, but it didn't need it and it served as nothing but a distraction from the actual interesting things going on. I was so interested by the characters of the Krays after this movie that I went and did some reading on Wikipedia and discovered that the relationship between Reggie and Francis only actually lasted eight months. Based on how much time the movie invests in it, you'd think she'd been a big part of his life for years. It makes me feel all the more cheated. There's no need to shoehorn in a love subplot to spice up a gangster film that's got a rich history to pull from. Going back to BLACK MASS as a fine example, the filmmakers didn't feel the need to jam a relationship into the movie to humanize James Bulger. We got a little bit in the beginning and then it was all business. Mobsters, particularly the more successful ones, are interesting enough with their lives in the criminal underworld. I wanted more of that. LEGEND has some good stuff but it all feels disjointed with the interruptions and the ending feels so abrupt because I don't think we ever right the right momentum.
In short, watch it for Hardy's performance and some great moments but overall it's a fairly forgettable film.