Let’s start off by saying that you have to get your drinks and popcorn ready if you are watching the movie Legend, because it runs for 132 minutes – slightly over two hours and halfway into the movie you might start to get fidgety. Not because it is boring, but because of how the show pans out eventually.
The film is written and directed by Brian Helgeland – more commonly known for his award-winning works such as L.A. Confidential and Mystic River, though I haven’t caught any of those films. Legend is not badly written, but there is certainly room for improvement. There could be more showcases in the rise and falls of the Kray Twins – notoriously known for their organised crimes in East End of London in the 1950s and 60s.
Classified as a biography, crime and thriller film, the only factor that played out well in the movie is the crime aspect. For a gangster biography, I had expected more action, and maybe even a little more of the gangsters’ life instead of a heavily emphasised romance story between Reggie Kray (Tom Hardy) and Frances Shea (Emily Browning). Though heart-wrenching, I very much like it that Frances directed the entire story from her point of view. Maybe it’s because I can empathise with her circumstance in the movie, or perhaps due to the fact that I’m a little feminist.
The pair of Twins, more commonly known as Ronnie Kray and Reggie Kray, are both portrayed by Tom Hardy. Hardy has done an impeccable job in portraying the differences between the two brothers. In a way, I would say he is the only reason the film is worth watching. Both brothers possess characters at the opposite end of the spectrum, yet the movie portrays it well that blood is and always will be thicker than water.
Reggie is handsome and gentlemanly, yet vicious and violent. Ronnie, on the other hand, comes across as a psychopath (probably because he is diagnosed with schizophrenia). At certain points of the movie, Ronnie also comes across as being humorous (even though he may not notice it himself) and isn’t afraid to tell the world his sexuality preferences.
Unlike usual prim and proper London films, you will be able to get a glimpse of how the society is like in the post-WWII era, when residents rather work alongside affluent gangsters than cooperate with the police division. Aristocrats and gangsters are alike, in terms of having endless amount of wealth (not necessarily from righteous means) and how they enjoy spending time in clubs and casinos. This, I really enjoy.
Rating: M18 (violence & coarse language)
Release date: 12 November 2015
Catch the trailer here:
