Legend
2015 · Directed by Brian Helgeland
Original language: English
- crime
- thriller
The story
Suave, charming and volatile, Reggie Kray and his unstable twin brother Ronnie start to leave their mark on the London underworld in the 1960s. Using violence to get what they want, the siblings orchestrate robberies and murders while running nightclubs and protection rackets. With police Detective Leonard "Nipper" Read hot on their heels, the brothers continue their rapid rise to power and achieve tabloid notoriety.
What it’s like
Cold, lacquered 1960s London rendered in warm amber nightclub glow and muddy grey street light, with Brian Helgeland's camera staying close and restless around the Kray twins in sharp suits and smoky rooms. Tom Hardy plays both brothers, so split-screen work, over-the-shoulder doubles and tense two-shots carry much of the unease, while the period jukebox songs and a brooding score keep a constant low pulse under the bravado. Tone is gangster swagger curdling into dread: charm and menace sit side by side, and the mood feels foreboding from the first nightclub scene. Violence is frequent and sudden, with beatings, shootings and a few brutal killings shown directly, though rarely lingered on for gore. Pacing is brisk and escalating, shaped around the arc of two men whose loyalty to each other drives them toward ruin. It suits a late-night, lights-low watch for people drawn to crime biography, period suits and cautionary true-story tales, and is not a gentle choice.
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