Legend (4½ Stars)

Before going to see this film in the cinema I knew almost nothing about the Kray twins. I knew their names, I knew they were gangsters in London's East End in the 1960's, but that was it. I expected the film to tell me about their lives and how they rose to power. I was disappointed that this wasn't the case. The film begins in the mid 1960's when the Krays were already powerful gangsters, and it continues to their imprisonment in 1969.

Barring this disappointment I enjoyed the film. The remarkable thing is that Tom Hardy plays both twins. The easy part was to put the two incarnations of Tom Hardy into the picture together. Computers can do anything nowadays. The difficult part was for Tom Hardy to realistically portray two men with different personalities and mannerisms. Only a truly great actor can pull off a feat like this. An actor like Tom Hardy.

The film is all based on the differences between the two brothers. Reginald Kray was an efficient businessman, keeping a cool head to make his business as successful as possible. Ronnie Kray was erratic and impulsive, using his fists rather than his brain. Even though it was obvious to everyone that Ronnie was a problem to their business, Reginald supported him because he loved him as a brother.

The story's narrator is Reginald's wife Frances, played by Emily Browning. I have mixed feelings about her as an actress. I've never seen her smile once in a film, she has a permanently miserable face. However, this doesn't cause problems. She gets by with her sad face. I shan't be too hard on her until I've seen her in more films. She's definitely a better actress than Kristen Stewart.

I went to see the film with my fellow blogger, Emma Roberts. Click here to read her review.