It’s a terribly frustrating thing when a less than great film features a more than commendable performance. There’s Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones; there’s Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln; hell, there’s half of Meryl Streep’s entire filmography. And now there’s Tom Hardy’s dual role in the crime thriller Legend.
Legend tells of the, well, legend of the late identical Kray twins, Reginald and Ronald, who ruled the east end of 1960s London through their gangster activities as well as through their ownership of a nightclub, which gave them celebrity status and even more power in the city’s west end. Along with their equally ruthless gang known as “The Firm”, they brought torment on their enemies, scandal on the nation’s top politicians, and vehement frustration on the coppers constantly chasing their just-out-of-reach tails (the latter of which is led by a sorely underused Christopher Eccleston). It’s a challenging story to put on screen due to it having so much ground to cover, and sadly one that fails in far more areas than it succeeds in.
Through the narration of Reginald Kray’s young lover-turned-wife Frances Shea (Emily Browning), whose voice continues to navigate us throughout the rest of the film, we’re introduced to the world of London in the ‘60s as well as to the twins themselves: Reg (or “Reggie” as she affectionally calls him) is tough, charming and, for the most part, knows how to keep his cool. Ronnie, on the other hand, is an emotionally unstable hothead recently released from a psychiatric hospital and utterly unpredictable. Ah, what could possibly go wrong?
It’s this vibrant clash of a relationship – as well as Reg’s turbulent romance with Frances – that seems to be the driving force in the following scenes with the biographical elements ending up somewhat sidelined, but even then the relationships sadly aren’t explored anywhere near to their full potential. This resulting lack of both substance and a real narrative focus is therefore what ultimately fizzles Legend out by its third act. Indeed, despite the film being based on a true story and thus having an ending already written for him, it seems almost as though writer/director Brian Helgeland wasn’t exactly sure just how to get to this ending. Apparently his solution came in the form of chucking some nasty moments of brutal violence and rape at us to keep us occupied while he tried to figure it out.
Wasted potential is ultimately Legend’s biggest crime, but that’s not to say it’s completely worth missing. Every performer is clearly giving it their all and Hardy is simply fantastic, showing once again his keen talent for playing infamous British criminals. It’s not the easiest thing to sit through a film when your two lead characters are damn near impossible to root for, but some very funny lines combined with Hardy’s captivating screen presence make things bearable if not enjoyable – for the most part, at least.
Rating: 6/10
Words by Samantha King