★★★★
Who does this Tom Hardy fella think he is? He’s hogging all the handsome, eating everyone’s protein, taking the lead roles in every second blockbuster, and now he’s playing the supporting role to… himself?
Yep, selfish ol’ Tom is everyone in Legend, and he’s just about the only guy around who could actually pull it off.
Reggie Kray (Hardy) and Ronnie Kray (Hardy) are known to everyone in Bethnal Green as gangsters, including the local police. With Reggie’s charm and Ronnie’s psychotic tendencies, the brothers are well placed to take what they want, when they want. And Reggie Kray wants two things: Frances (Emily Browning) and London.
Writer/director Brian Helgeland is best known for his Oscar-winning screenwriting, and he’s on great form here. The dialogue is sharp and sweary, and the narration from Browning makes her an excellent cipher for how we should view the Krays – magnetic, authoritative and, ultimately, frightening.
Helgeland’s direction is sharpest when he doesn’t pull punches, and that’s literal in this film. The fight scenes are brutally raw, as well they should be. The veneer that Reggie carefully maintains cannot hide his urge to violence, and Ronnie… well, there’s no veneer for him.
It’s a towering performance from Hardy, who realizes both of the Krays as distinct, motivated individuals superbly grounded in their world. Helgeland’s rendering of 1960s London’s East End will have you longing for lemon sherbets and lounge singers.
As for Browning, she is as ever a convincing and appealing foil, matched by a barely recognisable Christopher Eccleston as obsessive detective Nipper and a solid supporting cast.
The film winds towards what seems an inevitable conclusion, throwing in a curveball here and there to keep you on your toes, but the urgency drains from the film’s last quarter. It’s a shame not to see the film make a strong finish.
Regardless, this sits aside Mad Max as yet another hallowed step on the upward climb of Tom Hardy’s career. The best possible outcome for the awards season would be that he is nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor. Universe, do your thing.
Legendopens in cinemas on Thursday October 15.
