'Me and my brother, we're gonna rule London!'

Rating: 5/10 (25 March 2016)

Brian Helgeland both wrote the screenplay (based on John Pearson's book) and directed this mobster movie. The sole attraction (aside form a fine performance by Emily Browning) is the tick of using actor Tom Hardy to play both roles of the twins – and for that reason it is worth watching.
The film tells the story of the identical twin gangsters Reggie and Ronnie Kray (Tom Hardy in a duplicitous role), two of the most notorious criminals in British history, and their organized crime empire in the East End of London during the 1960s. Focusing on the relationship between Reggie Kray and Frances Shea (Emily Browning), the film is told from France's' point of view as someone who knew him best, as well as the mental health issues the same sex life that Ronnie Kray faced and their rise to power as the notorious gangsters of London.
There are some fine roles for Christopher Eccleston, Tara Fitzgerald, Nicholas Farrell, and Joshua Hill, but the entire production is overlong, consistent fighting, and not a lot of character development. But the overriding problem of this film is that is nearly unintelligible due to the thick East Ender accents the actors use. Tom Hardy does a fine job as both twins (very different in nature) but he too is almost impossible to understand. Fortunately on DVD there are English subtitles so we can understand the dialogue.