Tom Hardy confirms he will play BOTH Kray twins in Legend | Daily Mail Online comments Tom Hardy has confirmed he will play both brothers in a new biopic about notorious East End gangsters, The Krays. The 36-year-old will face the tricky task of simultaneously playing Ronnie and Reggie Kray in the new film titled, Legend. Confirming the news, Tom said: 'I'm on that right now. I've got to work out how to play both twins, which will be fun. It's another experiment and I'm really looking forward to it. Twice as fun: Actor Tom Hardy has confirmed he will be play both legendary gangsters, Ronnie and Reggie Kray, in a new biopic 'I’m not going to put too much pressure on myself, I just want to have some fun. The more of a challenge I give myself, the easier it is to take on more projects which are complicated in the future.' RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share The Hollywood hunk previously told MailOnline that he was keen to take on the roles as he said: ‘All the plans are on the table.

'There’s a lot of crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s, and there’s a lot of shift and geography to work out.’ Gangster: The actore previously told MailOnline that he would 'absolutely' love to play the criminal brothers Notorious: LA Confidential writer, Brian Helgeland's script will focus on the Kray twins' wheelings and illegal dealings during the fifties and sixties, with Hardy playing both brothers. From a screenplay penned by LA Confidential writer, Brian Helgeland, the story will focus on the Kray twins’ wheelings and illegal dealings during the fifties and sixties, with Hardy playing both brothers. ‘It would be difficult,’ Tom said about the mechanics of playing two characters sharing a lot of the same screen time. ‘It’s quite technical and I’m a bit of an anorak.’ He added: ‘There’s a physical transfer; we’d have to shoot one bit, go away come back and shoot it all again with another part. I’ve never dreamt of playing two people on the screen!’ The working title of the film is Legend, and is currently in development with the expectation to begin production in the UK later this year.

And though the Krays might look identical, their characters are far different which will no doubt be a challenge for the actor, as he portrays the struggle of the elder brother Reggie to keep in check the unstable actions of his younger twin, rumoured to have been a paranoid schizophrenic. As heads of the notorious criminal gang The Firm, the Krays were behind numerous armed robberies, murders, arson attacks and protection rackets up until their arrest on 9th May 1968. Their story was previously told on film in the 1990s, with real life brothers Martin and Gary Kemp playing the title roles. Challenge: Tom will portray both The Kray twins in the film, which the actor knows will be difficult but exciting Second time: Martin and Gary Kemp played The Krays in the 1990 movie of their criminal exploits The Oscar-winning screenwriter’s script doesn’t just concern the criminals that the brothers dealt with, but also the likes of Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and other celebrities, who frequented their former Knightsbridge nightclub Esmeralda's Barn, which is now the site of the Berkeley Hotel.

It is also said to look at Ronnie’s alleged sexual relationship with two British politicians; Lord Boothby, a UK Conservative Party politician, and, Labour MP Tom Driberg. Of course, playing a violent former boxer-turned-criminal won’t be too tough a feat for Hardy, who proved his worth as the title character in Nicolas Winding Refn’s biopic Bronson. He can do hard: Tom previously played 'the most violent prisoner in Britain' in Nicolas Winding Refn's Bronson Reunited: Tom and Cillian Murphy (far right) starred in Inception and act opposite each other in BBC period crime drama Peaky Blinders And he continued down the gangster path with his role in BBC period crime drama Peaky Blinders, opposite his Inception co-star Cillian Murphy. Both actors starred in Christopher Nolan's Inception, and played villains in the director's The Dark Knight trilogy, though they didn't share scenes together. And with the announcement last year that Ben Affleck will be filling the very big bat boots of Christian Bale in the upcoming Batman vs. Superman movie, Tom had nothing but good words to say. ‘I think it’s awesome,’ Hardy enthused.

‘You got to understand, Ben Affleck is one of the finest directors we’ve got who can act and direct and be in films like The Town and Argo. It’s fantastic.’ Ringing endorsement: Hardy - who played Bane in the last Batman film - has given his full support to Ben Affleck as the new Dark Knight Tom Hardy in talks to play both Kray twins in new film | The Independent Tom Hardy in talks to play both Kray twins in new film 'Legend' will focus on the rocky relationship between Ronnie and Reggie Tuesday 25 February 2014 09:56 BST Click to follow The Independent Culture Tom Hardy is in talks to play criminal Kray twins in forthcoming film Legend Getty Images The Dark Knight Rises star Tom Hardy is in talks to play the infamous Kray twins in a forthcoming film. The actor has been approached to play both brothers in the film, which will chart the tortured relationship between East End gangster twins Ronald and Reginald Kray, Screen Daily reports . The film offer comes weeks after Hardy confirmed he would be joining the cast of acclaimed BBC period crime drama Peaky Blinders .

The project is thought to be one of several that the British actor is currently considering, sources told the trade publication. The film, which will follow the identical twin brothers and their criminal exploits in London during the Fifties and Sixties, is currently in development with production due to start in the UK later this year.

Tom Hardy on screen Tom Hardy on screen 1/5 Warrior, 2011 Tom Hardy (left) plays the son of an alcoholic former boxer played by Joel Edgerton (right) in 2011 film 'Warrior' AP 2/5 The Dark Knight Rises, 2012 Tom Hardy as Bane in a scene from the action thriller 'The Dark Knight Rises', 2012 AP 3/5 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, 2011 Tom Hardy plays British intelligence officer Ricki Tarr in 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' AP 4/5 This Means Warm, 2012 Tom Hardy plays CIA operative Tuck in 2012 film 'This Means War' AP Tom Hardy plays a Welsh building site manager in 2013 thriller 'Locke' Lionsgate LA Confidential screenwriter Brian Helgeland has penned the script after revealing at a Writer’s Guild of America event last year that the film will concentrate on the life of Reggie Kray, the elder brother by ten minutes, as he seeks to control the psychotic tendencies of his younger twin.

The brothers’ organised criminal gang, The Firm, was involved in armed robberies, arson, protection rackets, assaults and the murders of criminals Jack “The Hat” McVitie and George Cornell. As West End nightclub owners, they mixed with prominent entertainers including Diana Dors, Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland, and with politicians such as Lord Boothby, who features in the script. The Kray twins were arrested on 9 May 1968, having narrowly avoided being sent to prison several times. Legend trailer sees Tom Hardy as Ronnie and Reggie Kray | Daily Star Published 16th July 2015 SEEING DOUBLE: Tom Hardy as Ronnie and Reggie Kray in Legend [STUDIO CANAL] Heading back to the Sixties criminal underworld in London, the film sees Hardy shine as the East-End's most notorious gangsters. While the brothers try to turn London into the "Las Vegas of Europe" police superintendent Nipper Read – played by Christopher Eccleston – is trying to make sure this doesn't happen. The two-and-a-half minute clip, shows the different sides of the criminal bosses, from brutal thugs to loyal siblings.

It starts with Ronald looking for a "proper shoot-out" with a rival gang, but he's disappointed when he finds his opponents have only brought iron bars to the rally. WATCH THE LEGEND TRAILER BELOW We're quickly introduced to the twin's world of money and violence – as well as the violent people they surrounded themselves with. Emily Browning plays Reggie's wife Frances, as she questions her husband’s gangster lifestyle and unflinching love for his brother. Martin Kemp, who starred as Reggie in the Nineties biopic of The Krays, recently gave Hardy support for the role. "I think Tom's a great actor, if anyone can do it he can do it really well," he said. "I'm not a fan ever of one actor doing two different parts, but if anyone can pull it off, he can." Related articles Tom Hardy’s Double Whammy: Actor Plays Both Kray Twins In New Film ‘Legend’ Tom Hardy’s Double Whammy: Actor Plays Both Kray Twins In New Film ‘Legend’ Tim Butters Tom Hardy has received rave reviews for his performance of both Ronnie and Reggie Kray in the trailer for the upcoming film biopic about the notorious East End villains.

It’s rare for film critics to start gushing with praise on the strength of a trailer alone, but Tom Hardy is no ordinary actor, and that’s probably why Hardy was handpicked to play both Reginald and Ronald Kray in the upcoming movie Legend. As well as being a pair of ruthless and violent gangsters, Ronnie and Reggie were larger than life characters whose life and times have been documented in countless books, but strangely enough, until now, only one movie. The Krays , released in 1990 and staring British pop peacocks Gary and Martin Kemp, never really managed to capture any atmosphere of authenticity or sense of gritty realism. Given that the Kemp brothers were more famous for hammering out 1980’s power pop in Spandau Ballet, than playing legendary London villains, it’s not surprising. Anyone who has seen Tom Hardy’s star turn as psychotic Jewish gangster Alfie Solomons in Peaky Blinders, will know the thuggish thespian is more than capable of giving a more than convincing turn as not just one but two Kray villains. For Hardy fans, Legend is a double whammy.

And for those interested in the Krays it’s also good news, because the film directed by Brian Helgeland (L.A Confidential, Mystic River) is based on the definitive book on the twins, John Pearson’s The Profession Of Violence: The Rise And Fall Of The Kray Twins. Backing Hardy in his star turn is the equally impressive Christopher Eccleston , who plays tenacious cop Leonard “Nipper” Read, the Detective Chief Superintendent responsible for taking down the Kray twins in the 1960s. Emily Browning plays Francis Shea, Reggie’s wife, and supporting actors include Colin Morgan, Paul Bettany, David Thewlis and Kingsman‘s Taron Egerton. The trailer for Legend hints that the violence will be sprinkled with a liberal dose of black humour. In the released clip Hardy seemingly relishes the contrast of Ronnie Kray’s more violent, psychopathic, and slightly unhinged personality and the more sensible, restrained, and civilized front that Reggie liked to put on for a watching world. Legend will be released in cinemas on September 9. Movie Review: LEGEND (UK 2015) | Festival Reviews Festival Reviews Showcasing the best of movies, and film festivals from around the world.

Menu Home Movie Review: LEGEND (UK 2015) Movie Review: LEGEND (UK 2015) Deadlines to Submit your Screenplay, Novel, Story, or Poem to the festival: LEGEND (UK 2015) **** Directed by Brian Helgeland Review by Gilbert Seah The second film about the notorious Krays, (the first was called THE KRAYS in the 80’s directed by Peter Medak) the gangster twins that terrorized London the 50’s and 60’s is given a glossier more modern approach. But just as violent. The Kray twins in LEGEND are both played by Tom Hardy. Written and directed by Brian Helgeland (L.A. CONFIDENTIAL his best film) and based on the book The Profession of Violence: The Rise and Fall of the Kray Twins by John Pearson, the film is told from the point of view as well as narrated by Frances Shea (Emily Browning) the wife of Reggie Kray. She met Kray at 16 and married him aged 22 in 1965 . She committed suicide in 1967, and narrates the film from beyond the grave.

“It took a lot of love to hate him the way I did,” were her famous words. When the film begins, the Krays are already established gangster princes. The script does not detail how they got to be such prominent gangsters except by having them usurp the turf from Charlie (Paul Bettany) and his brother Eddie, childhood friends of the Krays and the leaders of notorious south London gang (also known as the Torture Gang). That was when Reggie met Frances. The film that goes on to deal with the further rise and fall of the Kray twins; the relationship that bound them together, and charts their gruesome career to their downfall and imprisonment for life in 1969. And all from Frances’ angle. LEGEND is necessarily violent. The best segment is the well executed fight between the two brothers (made trickier to shoot as both brothers are portrayed by the same actor) which is guaranteed to make you cringe in your seat. The script is set up to have the audience take the side of Reggie, the sane brother. The other, who is ultra violent and homosexual and certified insane not once but twice is the script’s set up for the downfall of the Kray’s empire.

Hardy does an exceptional job playing the Krays, definitely proving to be Oscar material here. He creates two very different characters in the Krays, one sane and the other insane. Though the film uses the tactic of Ronnie’s glasses to distinguish the twins apart, Hardy creates different nuanced behaviour for each. Of the other performances, David Thewlis stands out as the Krays business and lawyer connection who wants to make the business more legitimate, thus running foul with Ronnie. Ronnie’s homosexuality is treated in the film with campy seriousness. He justifies his gay sexual acts by claiming to be the giver and not the taker. One difference between the two KRAY films is that Medak’s dwelt on the Kray’s doting mother’s influence, the mother played by Billie Whitelaw in THE KRAYS. The 50’s and 60’s London atmosphere is effectively created, complete with the period posh suits, vehicles and Burt Bacharach songs like ‘The Look of Love’. Hard to fault, LEGEND belongs to the genre of excellent British crime thrillers of the 70’s that used to be popular. Also, Free logline submissions.

The Writing Festival network averages over 95,000 unique visitors a day. Great way to get your story out: Deadlines to Submit your Screenplay, Novel, Story, or Poem to the festival: Watch recent Writing Festival Videos. At least 15 winning videos a month: Share this: Legend Reviews & Ratings - IMDb IMDb 111 out of 126 people found the following review useful: Hardy is excellent, the rest is not so much from United Kingdom 9 September 2015 The story of the Kray twins is a fascinating one, full of violence and deceit. In Legend, that story isn't really taken to its full potential, thanks to an unfortunately clunky structure despite brilliant performances, good humour and violence. Let's start with the best part of this film, that is Tom Hardy's performances as Ronnie and Reggie Kray. The amazing special effects make the dual show possible, but within minutes of the start here, you completely forget that these two characters are played by the same man. Hardy completely disappears into both men, with an unnerving but humorous turn as the psychotic Ronnie, and a more understated but powerful performance as Reggie, and that really deserves some praise.

What's more is that this film does make use of the very violent nature of the history very well. As bloody as it is foul-mouthed, this isn't a pleasant film to watch, but the level of violence does leave an impression with regards to the Krays' crimes, making it seem all the more real, and all the more frightening. The big issue I have with this film, however, is that it's not an exhilarating watch. Historically interesting it may be, but at over two hours long, it's not something that will consistently entice you throughout. There are side plots that aren't picked up on enough, some characters don't get the development they really deserve based on the size of their role, and the plot takes a really long time to get going. The disappointing thing is that Legend isn't a bad film in any way, nor is it boring, but it gives you a sense of growing importance and tension towards a hopefully climactic end, but it never comes as you want it to. Was the above review useful to you? 74 out of 83 people found the following review useful: Two of Hardy's best performances in a movie with not much else going for it.

from United States 22 December 2015 Legend is a gripping movie, there's no doubt about it. Seeing Tom Hardy on screen, whether he's playing Reggie, Ronald, or both, is absolutely captivating. He owns the roles, and despite their identical looks you feel that they're completely different people because of how well Hardy portrays them. Reggie is sophisticated, methodical, affable; Ronnie is impulsive, unpredictable, paranoid. As a vehicle for Tom Hardy's acting chops, Legend is a home run. Unfortunately, that is where the positives of the movie end. The movie is tonally confused from scene to scene. It can be romantic one minute, ultra-violent the next, then reserved and introspective the minute after that. It's clunky writing; every time the movie begins to gain momentum it trips on itself one way or another. Also, you really don't care about any character other than the twins. I mean, thankfully they're in just about every scene, but they're always surrounded by faceless goons, or with a generic love interest, or no-name cops - not fully fleshed out characters. This is in no way a fault of the actors though.

Christopher Eccleston is wasted yet again as a villain after Thor: The Dark World. Here he's in an antihero role as the cop assigned to the Kray's case, but his lines lack any form of personality. He does what he can but he really has nothing to work with. Chazz Palminteri makes an appearance for about 5 minutes total as his usual gangster self, but in the end you're left scratching your head. So many characters, so much potential, but the only thing holding the movie together is Tom Hardy. So as you can infer, Legend is worth a watch if you're a Tom Hardy fan. He's scarily good in these roles, and two Tom Hardys are better than one. For that reason alone I can't give this movie a lower score. However, if you're looking for substance in a gangster biopic, you'll have to look elsewhere. Was the above review useful to you? 50 out of 60 people found the following review useful: Tom Hardy shines in bad movie. 11 September 2015 *** This review may contain spoilers *** The only good thing about this very average film is Tom Hardy's acting.

A lesser talented actor would have made it almost unwatchable. Short on facts, the writers here have just invented or borrowed bits to try and make the film sensational. It hasn't worked very well but at least shows the 'Krays' were a couple of psychopathic violent lunatics whose scrambled brains believed they were something special. Fact is, in this film, the one bit of fact we do know was said by Chas Palmintiri as Angelo Bruno the Philly mob boss, 'mobsters should keep a low profile'. Ironically poor old Angelo Bruno got whacked by Nicky Scarfo, a psychopath mafiosi who just like the 'Krays' loved being high profile and just like the Krays was sentenced to die in prison. The 'Krays' and most of the morons who worked for them were as thick as planks. They were also seriously dangerous psychopathic paranoid, disorganised nut cases who would use violence against anybody who got in the way. Although the story seems to have forgotten a lot of well recorded facts and many real people. Where was older brother Charlie Kray and other faces who stood trial with them. Why so many of the main 60s true characters strangely left out of the film.

The so called shootout scene was way off the recorded known facts in the Kray's pub the 'Carpenters Arms' and the only gunfight was in Catford at 'Mr Smiths' drinking club in 1965 and neither of the Krays were there. In this film, the 'Blind Beggar' pub had mysteriously moved from it's prominent place on the busy east end Whitechapel Rd to what was some unknown dark cobbled back street which was obviously a film set. Frances Shea had left Reg Kray 8 months after the wedding in 1965, she left diaries clarifying he was fairly useless as a man. The Triumph Spitfire he buys her was a 1967 registered car some two years later. Far from being respected by their 'firm' they were often looked upon a a couple of morons. Albert Donahue's nicknames for the twins was 'Gert and Daisy'. The film could have told interesting story if it had been researched properly. The true story is far more interesting than this fiction. None of it is anywhere near the truth. This film takes some of it's stories from an old book written by a toff named John Pearson.

The book was written forty plus years ago and I can imagine they must have had a great time filling Pearson full of tall stories. But this film surpasses the book in being so full of fiction it becomes a spot the next mistake game. I am glad to say that the film does not glorify the 'Krays', it shows them more as the pathetic, paranoid, violent, brainless sick morons they were. Very lucky to have gotten away with their crimes for so long. But the 50s and 60s were not long after the war and London and times were a whole lot different. If anyone out there aspires to admire these couple of lowlifes, they seriously need a reality check up. The Krays and the Richardson stories have been hijacked by so many 'silly b***icks' wannabe gangsters and money grabbing Kray wives it has become a monumental joke. Much of it fuelled by old showbiz people like Barbara Windsor for one who come up with' they were good boys who loved their old Mum'. Many of the most evil despots in history loved their Mothers. The 'Krays' were hated with a passion by many of the proper old faces around London.

The Krays were disorganised and out of control. Only last week, Freddie Foreman, who is a wily old fox and was smart enough to shun the limelight when he was active said had the Krays not been arrested they were due to be 'ironed out'. Freddie Foreman would know more about the Krays, the Richardsons and London's underworld than is contained the many books about the 'Krays'. There are many who were there who believe that it would have been better for all of us if they had been ironed out and disappeared off of the face of the earth in 1967. The 'Krays' do not deserve being called a legend. The bull***t has created an industry out there for second rate books, films and documentaries that will invent anything to get your money. This is just another one. As a gangster movie, it isn't in the same league as American films 'Godfather' 'Goodfellas' or 'Casino' from a Brit angle it doesn't come close to 'The long Good Friday' or 'Sexy Beast'. 'Legend' is just another ordinary film made watchable by Tom Hardy's performance.

Before you see this movie, watch Monty Python's 'Pirhana Bros' sketch and take on the Krays, apart from being hilarious, the Pythons got it far more right than the writers of 'Legend'. Was the above review useful to you? 77 out of 121 people found the following review useful: Not what you might expect from United Kingdom 10 September 2015 When you walk into a film with not one but two leading performances by Tom Hardy, who's back catalogue brings nothing but pleasure (apart from This Means War, but we'll let that slide), you cant help but feel disappointed when you leave the screen completely unaffected by what you've just watched, and that was certainly how I felt hen it came to Legend. Labelled of course as a Kray twin biopic, it sadly offers no real insight into their story and only grazes the top of their criminal wrong doings. Instead it goes down the route of Reggie and Frances love story, who is a character so under developed that the fragility her brother so often reiterates, isn't actually explained what so ever and prevents us from feeling anything towards her.

As for Hardy he plays both characters exceptionally well, particularly Ronnie who's insanity and subsequent spontaneity provides some comic relief to it all, however his psychological state is something that could of been explored more thoroughly instead of labelling him as just nuts. The supporting cast, including Taron Egerton and Christopher Eccleston, also do a fine job though Ecclestone's police officer almost gets ignored completely. The violence is also few and far between but when it appears they definitely don't hold back, providing entertaining scenes more reminiscent of other crime dramas and what you would expect going in. It shows us the real consequences of the lifestyle they live which does its best to offset the fairly superficial painting of 60's London but isn't enough and so the 'glossy' comments its been receiving are sadly warranted. In the end this adds up to a rather dull final product that wastes so much potential in this genuinely interesting real life crime partnership. Was the above review useful to you?

41 out of 55 people found the following review useful: Hardy terrific, film so so from London, England 13 September 2015 I was really looking forward to this one; the trailers were great and, whilst I'm not one of those who glamourise the Krays (they loved their mums, would do anything for you blah blah blah), I do find it bizarrely fascinating how the Krays/Richardsons have passed into London folklore. Alas, it's a bit of a let down. Hardy throws himself into both roles, by turns amusing and scary as Ronnie and compelling as a Reggie trying to build an empire while struggling to keep his brother in check. But he is let down by a clunky structure, it takes a while to get going and subplots and characters are introduced and then discarded on a whim, an awful Frances Kray voice-over, and an uneven script which can't quite decide if it wants to be an American style gangster flick or tread the same path as The Long Good Friday, Get Carter et al. And who let Duffy and her nails down a blackboard voice back in? I really hoped we'd seen the last of her after that crap Diet Coke ad.

The club scenes aren't quite working guys. I know, let's get Duffy, stuck a wig on her and she can caterwaul her way through some 60s classics. High five!!! Was the above review useful to you? 50 out of 80 people found the following review useful: The Most Surprisingly Excellent Films This year! from United Kingdom 26 September 2015 First off, hats off to the acting in this film - the cast did an amazing job. I was worried when i saw the trailer but i gave it a chance and I'm so glad i did. Truly a very well put together film, with a plot that carried it through and several audience members including myself cried at times. It showed the brothers in a different light. Allowing the audience to love them, hate them, sympathise and empathise with them. Tom hardy played both brothers excellently and hats off to the supporting actress who played Frances Kray - she did a fantastic job. A film you could re-watch again and again, the atmosphere and the wardrobe were key aspects of this film and the director delivered on pulling out all the stops. The script was beautifully written.

That said, I'd ask you to remember that this film is from one take on the Krays, they were a complex pair and short of holding a séance, we will never know what went on in their minds - this film is an adaptation of an account. Judge it on what you see, don't waste time with trailers that spoil parts for you. Buy a ticket and some popcorn and enjoy! Was the above review useful to you? 34 out of 50 people found the following review useful: Legends from Perth, Australia 16 October 2015 Tom Hardy gives an all time great performance, double acting as both the notorious Kray twins. The story is also quite comedic, clever and full of some great thrilling scenes. One of the great things about this film is you know what you're going to get, and it delivers, then some. It's bloody on top of witty, charming and fun. Legend serves up one of the great films of the year, whilst also being quite modest in its approach. With Tom Hardy's already established terrific acting skills, Legend becomes something more then a typical gangster crime film. It feels invested into making the viewer content with its two hour runtime, whilst always respecting.

The award for best actor goes to Tom Hardy, for sure. Was the above review useful to you? 38 out of 60 people found the following review useful: Outstanding crime picture (and Hardy is a LEGEND). from Sydney, Australia 16 October 2015 The infamous Kray brothers  identical twins Reggie and Ronnie  are so well known in British gangster history they've already had multiple films made about them. What writer-director Brian Helgeland brings to the table with his take on the notorious siblings is exuberant storytelling, classy visual styling and a tour de force performance by Tom Hardy as both twins. Hardy's dual turn is undeniably the centrepiece of the movie. His Reggie is all charm and swagger, with intelligence and ambition to boot, whilst the schizophrenic Ronnie is a short-tempered ball of emotional bluster. Helgeland sensibly opts to make Reggie the focus; of the two he is the more grounded one, a gangster with lofty aspirations and the ability to interact on a human level with those around him to make his goals a reality.

There is also genuine chemistry between Hardy (as Reggie) and Emily Browning, her fragile yet strong-willed Frances able to draw out the romantic side of Reggie, making his bursts of savagery all the more terrifying. Sporadically placed throughout the (overlong) two hour plus runtime, the bouts of violence bubble with intensity and exhilaration, often uneasily enjoyable thanks to moments of levity sprinkled alongside them. The 60s setting is capitalised on too, Dick Pope's elegant photography giving proceedings a classical feel while Carter Burwell's powerfully soulful score affects deeply at all the right times. There's a sense of glorification here that mightn't sit well with some audience members, however the Krays were adored in the East End and to deny the glitzier parts of their life would be to deny what made them popular to begin with. An exceptional crime picture with two outstanding performances from one man, proving again that Hardy really is an acting legend. Was the above review useful to you?

14 out of 16 people found the following review useful: Hardy excels in a dual role of some right historical bad 'uns from United Kingdom 28 February 2016 Tom Hardy is a strange fish as an actor. Famous for being almost incomprehensible in "The Dark Night Rises" and almost equally incomprehensible in his co-starring role in "The Revenant", it's sometimes really difficult to get a sense of his true abilities. Here in "Legend" he gets to show what he's made of . Twice! Hardy plays both roles in the story of Reggie and Ronnie Kray, the infamous gangsters who ruled across large parts of London in the 1960's. The film tells the story of the rise of the duo, focusing in particular on the wooing by Reggie of Frances (Emily Browning), the local girl who fell in love with and then married the hoodlum. Reggie and Ronnie  whilst both undisputed 'bad uns'  were as different as chalk and cheese.

Reggie was all for semi-legitimizing the business, running deals through his socialite-heavy clubs, and gaining higher-level cover by inveigling his way into control of political contacts such as Lord Boothby (a delightfully oily John Sessions). In contrast, Ronnie was an out-and-out psychopath with a malfunctioning 'off' button and no button at all marked 'self-control'. An open homosexual  something far more shocking in the '60s than it is today  Ronnie was a medicated loose cannon that even Reggie had trouble controlling. Gathering a posse of 'boys' around him (including Kingsman's Taron Egerton) Ronnie blazes a trail of bloody violence against rival gangs with little regard to the consequences. On the side of the law was Nipper Read ("Dr Who" re-booter Christopher Ecclestone) as the dogged detective trying to find something  anything  to pin on the brothers. Hardy manages to convey each brothers' idiosyncrasies so well that you quickly forget that this is the same actor playing both roles.

It is only in some of the more interactive scenes (such as a fight between the two of them) that the illusion fails apart somewhat and where acting twins would have made for more convincing footage (unfortunately Jedward were unavailable!). What makes Hardy's performance as Reggie particularly memorable is that for much of the film - and against your better judgment - you end up rooting for Reggie and wishing him to 'succeed'. (This is more by way of comparison against Ronnie's truly abhorrent behavior than against any absolute measure of 'good'). Browning is also compelling as the love-lost Frances, getting deeper and deeper into a world she has no control over and having to act to extremes of both love and fear. Also worthy of mention is the portrayal by David Thewlis (Lupin from the Potter films) of the Kray's financial adviser Leslie Payne: a man who knows he has the financial respect of the twins (at least Reggie) but is always sailing a dangerous course between kowtowing to them and criticizing their actions. Written and directed by Brian Helgeland ("Payback"), this is an intelligent British thriller, reflecting a visceral view of the criminal underworld of London in the '60's.

Overall, its an enjoyable watch that perhaps - Hardy aside - doesn't quite live up to its potential. A note however for the sensitive viewer: this is a very (very) violent film in places, and a couple of the scenes in particular are hard to watch. (Please visit bob-the-movie-man.com for the graphical version of this review. Thanks.) Was the above review useful to you? 19 out of 27 people found the following review useful: A Succession of Entertaining Scenes from United Kingdom 14 September 2015 If asked what this film is "about", you can respond that it's about the Krays - and you can't be much more specific than that. The possibilities were immense - it could have been about the politics of the Kray empire, or a character study into what made the Krays tick, or (probably what the film should have gone for) a focused story of the Krays' downfall. Instead, the film lacks any real coherence or a strong narrative arc; it essentially consists of a series of scenes which could have been played in almost any order. Now, a film which deals with real events always has to strike a balance between authenticity and arranging events into a satisfyingly cohesive narrative.

This can be a problem for films striving for strict accuracy, but Legend's larger-than-life, often tongue-in-cheek approach left plenty of room for fashioning a narrative. Yet the closest Legend comes to telling a story concerns the relationship between Reggie and his wife Frances. This was an odd choice of perspective (Frances functions as the movie's narrator), not least because the film doesn't really explore the relationship in any real depth - for instance, five minutes into their first date, Reggie and Frances kiss and that's all that's done to establish that they're "in love". Although Emily Browning performed well enough as Frances, the writing for her character was so bad it was jarring - she speaks in horrible movie clichés, in a way that no-one ever speaks in real life. The writing is otherwise excellent, and brought to life by fantastic performances from the whole cast - but especially, of course, Tom Hardy. His portrait of Ronnie, though it constantly borders on being absolutely preposterous, is impossible to tear your eyes away from. In every scene, I was waiting for the camera to cut back to Ronnie so I could savour the performance. Does Hardy's double-performance redeem the film's shortcomings?

Well, yes - enough for me to say that this film is worth a watch. You will be entertained, even if the film drags towards the end. But ultimately, Hardy's incredible performance is wasted on a film which failed to tell a story. Legend provides no sort of insight into Reggie and Frances' relationship, or the downfall of the Krays, or the workings of their empire, or, most crucially of all, into the motivations and characters of the Krays. Was the above review useful to you? Page 1 of 19: Legend: An in-depth look into the violent history of Ronnie and Reggie, the Kray twins | The Independent Legend: An in-depth look into the violent history of Ronnie and Reggie, the Kray twins Ronnie, Reggie and the legend of ‘old-school’ villainy Saturday 29 August 2015 23:24 BST Click to follow The Independent Culture <b>Kray twins Reginald and Ronald</b> <p> Not just brothers but twins, the infamous gangsters Ronnie and Reggie wreaked havoc on London committing a series of violent murders and assaults. Even as children they were tearaways: Ronnie nearly died from a he Getty The flowers are all dead.

I’m standing by the grave of Ronnie and Reggie Kray in the rain, looking down at stalks and plastic wrap. There have been no fresh tributes for a while and the weeds are taking over. The Krays were once called the most evil men in Britain, the most feared twins in history, the most infamous gangsters the East End has ever produced – but in this quiet corner of Chingford Mount Cemetery they seem forgotten. Soon that will change. A superb new movie called Legend, starring Tom Hardy as both the Krays, will bring new pilgrims and dark tourists to this place. But, for now, it is quiet as the rain hisses in the trees. The faces of Ronald and Reginald Kray are reproduced, on glistening black marble, as they were in a famous photograph by David Bailey: in the dark suits, white shirts and slim ties that gave these bad men glamour. “Grant them eternal peace, O Lord,” says the inscription, but they gave no peace to those they intimidated, extorted money from, beat up, stabbed or shot during the Sixties. East End London gangster Reggie Kray lights up a cigarette for his twin brother Ronnie in 1969.

To their mother, Violet, buried close by, they were “my lovely boys”. I have been to this place before, but it is the first time I have paid attention to the more ornate headstone next to theirs. Built at the height of their fame, it marks the passing of Reggie’s wife. An angel looks down in sorrow at a little white model of a Scottie dog. “Frances Kray, passed away 7th June 1967, aged 23 years”. The Krays went to prison for murdering fellow gangsters George Cornell and Jack McVitie. Frances, or Frankie as she was known, was described by people who knew her as a beautiful innocent, who died as a result of contact with them. On the day they were married, her mother wore black as if at a funeral. Reggie was the cheeky, charming one who wanted to go straight for the sake of love; and Ronnie was the psychotic, slobbering hulk who messed everything up. At least, that’s the story of the film, which paints her as a fragile Juliet to Reggie’s Romeo. Real life is more complicated. She left him after two weeks and killed herself two years later.

“I want people to see her for what she was, not as Reggie Kray’s trophy wife,” said her niece Frances Shea last week, before seeing the movie. It was her bed that Frankie lay down on after taking pills. “My grandad witnessed all that and was heartbroken.” The Sheas have tried in the past to have the body moved elsewhere, to distance Frankie from the Krays. But now she has become central to their story, thanks to an American director, Brian Helgeland, who won an Oscar for LA Confidential. The real Kray Twins 1/12 The real Kray Twins Boxers Reggie (left) and Ronnie Kray with their mother Violet Kray in 1950. Getty Images 2/12 The real Kray Twins The Twins fight in 1951. Getty Images 3/12 The real Kray Twins The Kray Twins in September 1951. Getty Images 4/12 The real Kray Twins The Twins in 1952.

Getty Images 5/12 The real Kray Twins The Kray twins pictured on 23rd January 1953, when as teenagers they would report to a local gymnassium in the East End of London. Getty Images 6/12 The real Kray Twins Twin brothers and organised crime bosses Ronnie and Reggie Kray in Cedra Court, off Cazenove Road in northeast London, 3 August 1964. Getty Images 7/12 The real Kray Twins Reginald Kray, one of the infamous Kray twins, celebrates his marriage to Frances Shae in April 1965. Getty Images 8/12 The real Kray Twins Notorious East End gangsters Ronnie (right) and Reggie (left) Kray in October 1965. Getty Images 9/12 The real Kray Twins London gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray refresh themselves with a cup of tea in 1966. Getty Images 10/12 The real Kray Twins London gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray at home having a cup of tea in 1966.

Getty Images 11/12 The real Kray Twins The Twins in 1966. Getty Images 12/12 The real Kray Twins East End London gangster Reggie Kray lights up a cigarette for his twin brother Ronnie in 1969. Getty Images I’ve seen posters all the way to the cemetery, on the bus stops, at the train stations: Tom Hardy looking slick and handsome as Reggie, or big and frightening as Ronnie. Airbrushed, stylised representations of a new version of an old myth, not much to do with the dead carnation heads on their graves. But the twins always knew glamour was a cover for grim reality. “They came from nothing and managed to create an image for themselves in a way that nobody else had done,” says Dr Ruth Penfold-Mounce of York University. “Most criminals become famous when they get caught and go to jail. They achieved it while they were still active.” They put their steel fist in a velvet glove, she says, by running glamorous West End nightclubs that attracted stars such as Judy Garland and acres of attention from the gossip columns. Reggie would have been a very successful businessman on his own, but his brother was darker.

“Ronnie was very much into the gangster image, getting them to dress the same in suits with slicked-back hair. He wanted to live the gangster lifestyle in a way that he thought Al Capone did ... import it to Britain.” Gentlemen criminals, a cut above the riff-raff. A force to be trusted in chaotic times. People bought it, as they went to jail for killing other gangsters. “They never hurt the public,” said their brother Charlie on the day their mother Violet was buried in August 1982. Tom Hardy as the Kray twins That was the day I first came across them in the flesh, as a 15-year-old in my first week of work experience on the local paper. Vi’s boys were let out for the day, handcuffed to the biggest guards the prison service could find, to make the twins look small. There were horses with black plumes as the hearse drove from her flat in Shoreditch a dozen miles up north to Chingford Old Church, with 60,000 people lining the streets.

It was the kind of journey many of our families had taken, out of the old East End and into Essex for an escape from poverty to a bit of comfort, space and greenery. The cortège passed the family home of a football-mad seven-year-old boy called David Beckham. We were both of us raised on the borders of an East End that still felt postwar. It was long before the Olympics. We were raised on the milk of a myth: that we looked after our own; that the Krays were tough but they had manners; they were good to their mum and loved their dogs. Not like the new thugs. Not like the blacks and Asians colonising the old streets, some of our elders said, making no secret of their racism. They were out of touch. Our school mates were black and Asian, and few of us could understand the appeal of the National Front. But I knew, as I stood among the crowds at the funeral, that part of the reason some people still had strong feelings for the Krays was because they were white. They represented something lost, even then.

Twin brothers and organised crime bosses Ronnie and Reggie Kray in Cedra Court, off Cazenove Road in northeast London, 3 August 1964. They were twin symbols of an idea that stretched back to the so-called Spirit of the Blitz: the people of the East End running their own lives, working together, keeping their own code without interference from officialdom in any form. They would not speak to a copper, as one character says in Legend, but they would kiss a gangster. Diana Dors was at Violet’s funeral. So was Barbara Windsor. People came out to see the stars, but also because the Krays were still a force. They were still running rackets from behind bars, even providing bodyguards for Frank Sinatra when he came to Britain. So security was tight both ways, villains and coppers side by side for once, but my news editor had a plan. “You’re a kid. You don’t look like a reporter.

Put my jacket and tie on and go and join the queue of mourners, see if you can get into the church.” I’m still not sure if he was joking, but I went anyway, shaking with fright, wriggling my way through the crowds until I was at the back of the queue to get in. I hadn’t really thought this through, and now I was committed, there was no escape. It was a hot day and I was sweating in torrents. We inched forward to the door of the church. Then a huge man in a suit and shades took a step forward in front of me, blocking the way. His arms crossed, he leant down and said very quietly in my ear, in a deep and threatening voice that gives me shivers to this day, “You must be fucking joking.” I ran then – back into the crowd and through a hedge, feeling him close behind. By the time I got back to the news editor, I was a wreck. He laughed, and said at least I had tried. And when a job came up, I got it. Meanwhile, the influence of the Krays was fading. Ronnie died in Broadmoor in 1995.

Reggie was released from prison because of his cancer, eight weeks before he died in 2000. The crowds were much smaller for his funeral. Their generation was dying off. My nan was part of it. She spoke in an accent that was a product of time and place but which has now vanished like her culture; a curious blend of Cockney and the received pronunciation she had heard as a child and a young woman, when the wireless was all they had. The Kray twins at the wedding of Reggie (right) in 1965 The last time I heard that accent was when I went to interview Dame Vera Lynn last year. She was 97 but still clearly remembered driving through an air raid in a car with a soft top, wearing a tin hat for protection, to a recording studio in north London. She read the words, the orchestra played. then she recorded the song, just like that. “One take Vera, they called me, dear.” It was “We’ll Meet Again”. I heard that song the last time I saw my nan, when we sang together, holding hands, along with all the other residents of the care home. She’s gone now. Her voice is gone. That communal spirit has gone, too.

As the East Enders moved out of London, made a little money and fell in love with Mrs Thatcher, community gave way to just immediate family and then to greed: the narcissistic culture of EastEnder Essex today, in which cheap fame and piles of dosh are all that matter. They’ll love the flashy charm and swagger of Reggie in Legend. The twins would love that love, but the real East End they knew has gone. The Krays have passed out of reality into Jack the Ripper or even Robin Hood territory, their story can be anything a film-maker wants. Still, there is a real woman lying in the grave. The remains of her, anyway. As dominated by the Krays in death as she was in life. “If I could write the beauty of your eyes, and in fresh number, number all your graces …” says the poem on her headstone. At first, because of where we are, I take it to be sentimental tosh. But it’s not. It’s Shakespeare. Even his words are corrupted by the twins’ presence. The poem is about immortality, which Frankie will achieve through Legend, and deeply sympathetic to her. It’s just another fantasy, of course. Poor Frankie.

The Krays created their own legend. But that cost lives, and here in the rain by Frankie’s grave, the legend feels like nothing but a tragedy. Tom Hardy and Emily Browning shoot wedding scene for Krays film Legend | Daily Mail Online comments He's been engaged for four years but has never quite made it down the aisle. But Tom Hardy finally did so on Friday when he dressed to impress in his wedding attire, albeit as part of filming for his upcoming The Kray twins biopic Legend. The 36-year-old star, who is playing both of the gangster brothers, Ronnie and Reggie, in the movie, starred opposite Emily Browning in the scenes as they portrayed the wedding of Ronnie and his former wife Frances O'Shea. Dressed to impress: Tom Hardy looked smart in his wedding attire as he shoe scenes for his upcoming The Kray twins biopic Legend Big day: The 36-year-old star, who is playing both of the gangster brothers, Ronnie and Reggie, in the movie, starred opposite Emily Browning Tom looked dapper in a black suit complete with a tie in the same colour, while he wore his hair slicked back.

Emily – who has previously starred in Sucker Punch and Pompeii – looked a vision in a traditional white wedding dress. The 25-year-old star was also seen relaxing in between takes as she held a cigarette in her hand. Sharp look: Tom looked dapper in a black suit complete with a tie in the same colour, while he wore his hair slicked back Puffing away: The 25-year-old star was also seen relaxing in between takes as she held a cigarette in her hand Suited and booted: Tom (third left) was seen waiting dressed in character as Ronnie alongside several other co-stars Break from filming: Emily's alter-ego Frances met Ronnie when she was 16 and later married him aged 22 Looking slick: Tom looked to be in good spirits as he chatted off camera Frances met Ronnie when she was just 16 and later married him aged 22 in 1965 and they went on to honeymoon in Athens. This comes after Tom was reportedly injured on the set of the upcoming biopic on Thursday, resulting in filming for the afternoon being cancelled.

A source told MailOnline that he had to go and see a specialist after injuring his foot while shooting scenes for the film and he was seen limping out of the motor home on the set of the movie. Legend: Tom was seen standing next to his alter-ego's wedding car Tough role: Tom Hardy was reportedly injured on the set of his upcoming Kray twins biopic Legend on Thursday, resulting in filming for the afternoon being cancelled No pain, no gain: The 36-year-old star, who is playing both of the gangster brothers, Ronnie and Reggie, in the movie, was seen limping out of the motor home on the set of the movie The Dark Knight Rises star was seen with bloody knuckles upon his return to his dressing room after shooting fight scenes inside Turner's Old Star pub, which is standing in for The Pig & Whistle. And he was later seen departing the motor home with his pet dog in tow. Tom was seen dressed down in a green T-shirt and a pair of black tracksuit bottoms for the day. In between takes: Tom was also seen with bloody knuckles as he headed back to his motor home In pain?

A source told MailOnline that he had to go and see a specialist after injuring his foot while shooting scenes for the film The star's face also looked slightly battered after shooting his latest scenes. The reports come just one day after the Hollywood star was pictured in the first film still from The Krays biopic. Wearing the glasses and three-piece suit of Ronnie on one side, while smoking a cigarette as Reggie on the other, even in this single shot one can see how Tom has defined each character. First look: Tom in his latest roles as Ronnie (left) and Reggie Kray in the film, Legend Challenge: Tom will portray both The Kray twins in the film, which the actor knows will be difficult but exciting The film also stars Emily Browning, David Thewlis and Christopher Eccleston but the supporting cast have yet to be seen on the east London set, which continued filming on Thursday. Wearing prosthetics and vintage suits, Tom's stand-in was dressed as Reggie to help the crew set up shots for the main talent at Turner's Old Star pub.

The artist Joseph Mallard William Turner was rumoured to be the owner of the watering hole, and it is though that he often visited the place of debauchery under the pseudonym 'Admiral Puggy Booth'. Bespectacled: Tom Hardy dons thick glasses for his role as gangster twin Ronnie Kray in Legend Enigmatic: Tom cut a suave figure in his elegant spectacles as he began fliming the gangster movie Starring role: Tom is surrounded by cast and crew as he films the protagonists of the crime drama No doubt, the pub is a resonant choice for the film which chronicles the life of two of the most notorious gangsters in British history who grew up and operated primarily from the East End. Ronnie and Reggie were born on 25 October 1933 in Hoxton, and first attended Wood Close School in Brick Lane before going onto Daniel Street School. In 1938, the Kray family moved from Hoxton to Bethnal Green, at 178 Vallance Road, which is certainly not far from Turner's Old Star.

Mirror image: The actor removed his glasses to play the role of Ronnie's brother Reggie Dodgy dealings: Reggie Kray formed one half of one of Britain's most notorious crime duos At Cannes this year there was a lot of interest in the film, with the response from buyers that it 'was one of the best scripts' they'd come across. Confirming the news in April, Tom said: 'I'm on that right now. I've got to work out how to play both twins, which will be fun. It's another experiment and I'm really looking forward to it. 'I’m not going to put too much pressure on myself, I just want to have some fun. The more of a challenge I give myself, the easier it is to take on more projects which are complicated in the future.' On the run: Tom films an action-packed chase in one of the scenes from the film Solemn: The actor plays the role of complex and tormented characters in the tense psychological drama The Hollywood hunk previously told MailOnline that he was keen to take on the roles as he said: ‘All the plans are on the table.

'There’s a lot of crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s, and there’s a lot of shift and geography to work out.’ From a screenplay penned by LA Confidential writer, Brian Helgeland, the story will focus on the Kray twins’ wheelings and illegal dealings during the fifties and sixties, with Hardy playing both brothers. ‘It would be difficult,’ Tom said about the mechanics of playing two characters sharing a lot of the same screen time. ‘It’s quite technical and I’m a bit of an anorak.’ Resonant: The crew were filming at Turner's Old Star pub in Wapping with Tom's stand-in Disguise: Tom was barely unrecognisable as he filmed scenes as the Kray twins Convincing: The stand-in certainly looked like the Hollywood star to the untrained eye He added: ‘There’s a physical transfer; we’d have to shoot one bit, go away come back and shoot it all again with another part. I’ve never dreamt of playing two people on the screen!’ Hardy is expected to portray the struggle of the elder brother Reggie to keep in check the unstable actions of his younger twin, rumoured to have been a paranoid schizophrenic.

As heads of the notorious criminal gang The Firm, the Krays were behind numerous armed robberies, murders, arson attacks and protection rackets up until their arrest on 9th May 1968. Their story was previously told on film in the 1990s, with real life brothers Martin and Gary Kemp playing the title roles. The Oscar-winning screenwriter’s script doesn’t just concern the criminals that the brothers dealt with, but also the likes of Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and other celebrities, who frequented their former Knightsbridge nightclub Esmeralda's Barn, which is now the site of the Berkeley Hotel. It is also said to look at Ronnie’s alleged sexual relationship with two British politicians; Lord Boothby, a UK Conservative Party politician, and, Labour MP Tom Driberg. Of course, playing a violent former boxer-turned-criminal won’t be too tough a feat for Hardy, who proved his worth as the title character in Nicolas Winding Refn’s biopic Bronson. And he continued down the gangster path with his role in BBC period crime drama Peaky Blinders, opposite his Inception co-star Cillian Murphy. MailOnline has contacted representative of Tom Hardy for comment.

Second time: Martin and Gary Kemp played The Krays in the 1990 movie of their criminal exploits ‘Legend’ Review: Tom Hardy Double-Dazzles In Flawed Kray Twins Biopic | Variety Courtesy of Universal September 3, 2015 | 02:00PM PT Hardy's astonishing, award-caliber twin turn as the notorious Kray brothers deepens and darkens Brian Helgeland's biopic. There are two good reasons to make what might otherwise seem an inessential new biopic of Ronnie and Reggie Kray — and both of them, as it happens, take the formidable form of Tom Hardy . Playing both the infamously savage Cockney crime lords in a dazzling feat of thespian self-splicing to rival Jeremy Irons in “Dead Ringers,” Hardy’s inspired twin turn elevates and complicates the otherwise straightforward terrain of “ Legend ,” in which U.S. writer-helmer Brian Helgeland gives London’s East End gangland a slightly touristic candy-coating of Swinging ’60s glamor. While Helgeland’s script lacks the wit and grit of his Oscar-winning job on “L.A.

Confidential,” this lengthy, engrossing underworld saga creditably attempts to work a female perspective — that of Reggie’s innocent wife, Frances — into these laddish proceedings. If the Hardy Boys’ film-swallowing contribution ultimately thwarts the effort, that can’t be helped. Given an enduring local fascination with the Brothers Kray, business should boom in Blighty, where the pic opens ahead of its international premiere in Toronto. In the U.S., “Legend” may viably be marketed two ways by the currently indomitable Universal: as a lavishly violent genre outing and as a more prestigious awards vehicle for its duplicated leading man. Interestingly, Hardy’s own performance splits along comparable lines. His Reggie is a suave, charismatically volatile antihero calculated to inspire perverse admiration among younger male auds; his playfully eccentric inhabitation of the gay, mentally unstable Ronnie would, on its own, rep the more extravagant bid for thespian kudos. That both these distinct achievements — the work of a vital movie star and a resourceful character actor, respectively — are contained within a single performance is, of course, its true marvel. The illusion is achieved so fluidly and separably that the practicalities of the stunt are soon forgotten.

As a performance showcase, then, “Legend” is more sensational than Peter Medak’s meaner, muddier 1990 biopic “The Krays,” which nonetheless boasted fine work from New Romantic balladeers Gary and Martin Kemp. It’s less satisfying as psychological profile: For all Hardy’s expressive detail and physical creativity, Helgeland’s chewy, incident-packed script offers little insight into what made either of these contrasting psychopaths tick, or finally explode. Where Medak’s film focused extensively on the twins’ warped relationship with their dangerously doting mother, Violet (so vividly drawn by Billie Whitelaw), she’s a peripheral presence here. Rather, it’s Frances Shea — the working-class ingenue who married Reggie in her teens before succumbing to drugs and depression — who acts as the story’s principal female agent. Played by Emily Browning , Frances is even granted the film’s guiding voiceover, narrating the Krays’ antics in disillusioned tones from the outset until, via a cruel structural fillip, her point of view is harshly stymied. It’s an unexpected way into the legend, but a compromised one.

Despite Browning’s sympathetic efforts, Frances remains something of a cipher in the very story she’s telling, as the film dwells only cursorily on the mental and physical abuse she endured at the hands of her husband. On the more central subject of the Krays’ growing criminal empire, her point of view takes on an unconvincing omniscience; in assuming equal narrative authority on their domestic and professional lives, the device winds up selling both a little short. While the framing is askew, the picture within is still a compelling one. Helgeland has fashioned the Krays’ rearing of London’s underworld from the gutters of Whitechapel to the sequin-lined heart of Soho as a bloodily romanticized evocation of time and place not dissimilar to “Bugsy’s” from-the-ground-up chronicle of the Las Vegas Strip. Dick Pope’s lensing frequently opts for comic-book extremities in its angles and compositions; production designer Tom Conroy revels in mirrored, brandy-tinted surfaces and heedlessly of-the-moment interior kitsch. Costume designer Caroline Harris, meanwhile, races through impeccably contoured, magazine-ready ensembles as recklessly as their freshly wealthy wearers presumably bought them.

(Clothes maketh the men rather brilliantly when it comes to distinguishing the Krays themselves: Reggie’s spiv-slick suits are tailored, finished and carried so differently from Ronnie’s more ungainly gear as to denote a different physique entirely.) If all this lacquered period veneer gives the film a faint air of dress-up — right down to retro-inclined contemporary pop star Duffy turning up as a sultry lounge singer — that’s at least somewhat appropriate to a downfall narrative in which surface prosperity is all too easily stripped away. (Less excusable is a rather literal-minded soundtrack of ’60s jukebox standards that smothers Carter Burwell’s ripe score.) Even viewers unfamiliar with the Krays’ story will swiftly deduce the genre-dictated direction of things, as the film routinely checks in with doggedly trailing police detective Leonard “Nipper” Read (a grimacing Christopher Eccleston) between the boys’ increasingly grisly exploits.

Similarly, the meet-cute initiation of Reggie’s relationship with Frances hardly makes the subsequent souring of their marriage (between sporadic jail stints) any less surprising: Hers is a cautionary tale structured along similar, albeit grimmer, lines to “An Education.” Most intriguing amid Helgeland’s tangle of familiar plot strands is Ronnie’s terse expression of his homosexuality — both to calculated professional ends, as the notorious orgies he hosts at his modest Bethnal Green apartment implicate high-flying political abettors, and more vulnerably private ones. His romantic relationship with young lackey Teddy Smith (a poignant, underused Taron Egerton, in very different gun-toting territory from “Kingsman”) is played in tender fashion, though it’s disappointing that the film, seemingly nervous of offending less liberal male auds, presents it in such coy terms. Still, whether taunting fellow heavies with pre-emptive admissions of his sexual preferences, brutishly declaring his own fragility to his bemused brother or making pie-in-the-sky plans to build an urban utopia in Nigeria, the formerly institutionalized Ronnie is the film’s most fascinating, conflicted figure — and the one whose interior life most eludes Frances’ narration.

Adopting a singularly strange, phlegmy vocal delivery, Hardy gleefully plays up his peculiar sense of etiquette, while locating a slim core of perceptive decency in his madness. Projecting a sense of near-feral bewilderment at the world’s demands, he wears his own skin fretfully; playboy Reggie, on the other hand, slides into his like a broken-in pair of loafers. This fundamental conflict in the Krays’ respective states of being is one Hardy wryly articulates even as the film concerns itself with plottier cops-and-robbers activity; if there’s an upside to “Legend’s” baggy structure and distracted focus, it’s that it allows ample room for this remarkable dual characterization to breathe and bellow. Film Review: Tom Hardy in 'Legend' Reviewed at Working Title screening room, London, July 23, 2015. (In Toronto Film Festival — Gala Presentations.) MPAA Rating: R. Running time: 131 MIN.

Production (U.K.) A Universal Pictures (in U.S.)/Studiocanal (in U.K.) release of a Studiocanal presentation of a Working Title production in association with Anton Capital Entertainment, Amazon Prime Instant Video. Produced by Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Chris Clark, Quentin Curtis, Brian Oliver. Executive producers, Kate Solomon, Amelia Granger, Liza Chasin, Olivier Courson, Ron Halpern, Tom Hardy, Tyler Thompson, Timmy Thompson. Co-producer, Jane Robertson. Crew Directed, written by Brian Helgeland, adapted from the book "The Profession of Violence" by John Pearson.

Camera (color, widescreen), Dick Pope; editor, Peter McNulty; music, Carter Burwell; music supervisor, Liz Gallacher; production designer, Tom Conroy; art directors, Gareth Cousins, Marco Restivo; set decorator, Crispian Sallis; costume designer, Caroline Harris; sound (Dolby Atmos), Danny Hamsbrook; supervising sound editor, Dominic Gibbs; re-recording mixers, Jeffrey Haboush, Mark Taylor; visual effects supervisor, Adam Rowland; visual effects, Nvizible; stunt coordinator, Julian Spencer; assistant director, Jack Ravenscroft; casting, Lucinda Syson. With Tom Hardy, Emily Browning, David Thewlis, Taron Egerton, Christopher Eccleston, Chazz Palminteri, Tara Fitzgerald, Jane Wood, Paul Bettany, Colin Morgan, Paul Anderson, Stephen Lord, Duffy.

Question: Who played both the Kray twins in the film Legend?
Answer: Tom Hardy