At The Movies: Legend
Tom Hardy gives a mesmerising and stylish performance as Ronnie and Reggie Kray in the biopic film ‘Legend’.
THE Tralee Omniplex saw the first national screening/premiere of Tom Hardy’s latest film ‘Legend’ on Tuesday, in which he portrays both of the infamous East London Kray Twins.
TraleeToday.ie was lucky enough to be invited along to this showing of the gangster biopic about the lives of Ronnie and Reggie in 1960’s London.
So, what did we think of it?
In short, we loved it.
It is an utterly stylish and sleek piece of work, with some notable and impressive camera shots and choices of music standing out for this writer. But as well as this, it’s just a thoroughly enjoyable film guaranteed to leave both newcomers to and veteran students of the Kray story satisfied.
The film tells the story of twins Ronnie and Reggie Kray, who ‘ruled’ London in the 1960’s with – judging by this offering – a combination of wit, bribery, style and no small amount of barbarism, although those with a dislike of violence may want to think twice about choosing to see this movie. It can get a tad bloody at times.
Reggie is the calmer(ish) of the brothers and is, for all intents and purposes, the main character through which the story progresses. Ronnie on the other hand is just that bit more of a ‘loose cannon’ and is one of the main sources of humour throughout the film.
Tom Hardy is exceptional in his role(s), with his performance sometimes leading you to forget at that he is in fact playing both characters, such is the difference between the two.
He succeeds in making the brothers into strangely likable, which is certainly a very difficult thing to do when you’re playing/talking about two violent murderers/sociopaths/psychopaths.
There are emotional and humorous moments aplenty throughout the film, most notably the scene including Ronnie and business clients from America, while the first few scenes involving Reggie and love interest Frances are heartwarming to watch.
It is a stylish, if a tad over glamorizing piece about the lives of the famous twins and one that is guaranteed to give you the bang for your buck if you head to see it.
8/10
Check out the trailer below…
