Movie Review: "Legend"

Legend (2015)

R

1.5 Stars out of 5

Director                                Brian Helgeland
Writer                                   Brian Helgeland (screenplay), John Pearson (book)

Tom Hardy                           Reggie Kray/Ron Kray
Emily Browning                   Frances Shea
Colin Morgan                      Frank Shea
Paul Anderson                    Albert Donoghue
Christopher Eccleston       Leonard “Nipper” Read
David Thewlis                      Leslie Payne

 

Is there anywhere an actor that uses fewer words with more than one syllable than Tom Hardy; or for that matter uses more words that sound like little more than grunts? Perhaps it is his choice of recent movie roles: Bane in “The Dark Knight Rises”, Max Rockatansky in “Mad Max: Fury Road”, and now the Kray twins in “Legend” (the first movie was in 2013, the latter two in 2015). One even wonders if his grunting in these three features played a role in getting him the role of the belligerent John Fitzgerald in his Oscar nominated performance in “Revenant” (2015). Hardy can talk, he proved it in his earlier roles: as the English spy Ricki Tarr in “Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy” (2011), or even more appropriately as Eames in “Inception” (2010) – a role where he played someone known for his sarcastic tongue. Somehow though around 2012 when Hardy appeared in “Lawless” and started taking on roles as various tough guys, he dumbed down his vocabulary and comprehensibility so much, close captioning is almost always a requirement. It is really no surprise then in “Legend” when he chose to play both roles of the violent mobster twins, Reggie and Ron Shea. It is an even smaller surprise with respect to the manner in which he plays the psychotic twin, Ron – grunts and grimaces galore. No, the big surprise is when he channels his earlier roles to play someone who actually talks, appears fairly intelligent and actually tries to win a woman based on his personality; the “normal” twin, Reggie.

In London during the 50’s the Kray twins were building a reputation as gangsters. However, Reggie wanted to branch out and become a club owner, albeit a club owner that employed threats and intimidation to get his way. The twins differ physically only in the use of a set of horn rim glasses used by Ron, but in terms of deportment, there were enormous differences. Reggie was not just the more sophisticated in demeanor and appearance; he was also quite functional in society. Ron on the other hand was so disturbed and delusional; he was placed in a psychiatric facility for the criminally insane. His release via the use of third party threats initiated by the nominally sane twin, Reggie is a great introduction to the twins and their methods. It was also an opportunity to see that while Reggie could function in society far better than Ron, he was at heart also quite capable, in fact, seemed to prefer to use violence to obtain his goals.

Following the release of Ron, Reggie decided to move forward in his pursuit of a club. Sadly the owner did not want to sell; well sadly for him, Reggie really wanted that club. A little physical intimidation and voila, Ron and Reggie are now club owners. Oddly, the club becomes quite a success as Reggie runs with the marketing concept that the “swells” want to associate with the criminal element in some kind of thrill/clubbing experience. At about this time, Reggie also meets the woman he will marry, Francis Shea (Emily Browning). She is the brother of Reggie’s driver Frank Shea (Colin Morgan). These early scenes were largely predictable enough in their direction and outcome, but were surprising in the sense that Tom Hardy in the form of Reggie Kray actually appears to be somewhat human and verbal as he pursues Francis. She is unfortunately enough both for the movie and for poor Ms. Browning’s efforts a weakly defined character. She loves Reggie, she tries to change him from a life of crime, she fails and turns to drink, and she has an unhappy outcome. The simplistic nature of her scenes is one of the worst written aspects in the movie, and possibly the reason the movie is a failure – not due to Ms Browning, solely due to the writing.

Francis is little more than the mob moll archetype, but even that is really not the chief problem with her character. She also acts as the film’s narrator. The use of an over-voiced narrator is often a sign of troubles in the writing department, and it most certainly is in this movie. Her seemingly God-like knowledge of the actions and motivations of the Kray problems, her ridiculous portentous statements (“It was time for the Krays to enter the secret history of the 1960’s” and others) are enough to cause the average movie goer to cringe. When her big reveal comes near the end of the movie, the explanation of her omniscience completely obscures the actual tragedy of the situation. This then is the movie’s core thematic problem: there is no grasp whatever of normal human emotion. We see the Krays (crazy one and not so crazy one) portrayed as people that solve all problems with their fists, and bats, and guns, and whatever implement of mayhem is at hand. This animalistic worldview is bad enough on its own, but its effects on the movie are worse as it seems to influence writer/director Brian Helgeland into coloring and distorting the entire movie in a patina of gratuitous violence; every real human situation that might otherwise be explored, isn’t. Francis is just a stick figure accessory to Ron, not a character as a human being that can be related to any better than the monstrous twins.

Even the twins are ridiculous in their actions with one another, let alone the outside world. The best example of this is the scene that follows Reggie’s incarceration. Not long after obtaining the club, Reggie had to leave the now popular venue to go into prison for a short spell. Under crazy Ron’s tutelage, the club begins to fail. When Reggie returns, a violent confrontation between the two brothers over the club’s mismanagement by Ron (and in front of what few guests remain) takes place. They beat each other senseless, by the fight’s end they can hardly stand, but (ahh…) they still love each other, and the problem is solved. Really, in what world do such scenes take place; in Martin Scorcese’s world of cinematic mobster behavior? This may be Helgeland’s muse, but if so, he is focusing on the surface and failing to see beneath it. Scorcese’s characters are violent to be sure, but as bad as they are, the average viewer can live in the various characters’  persona for the duration of the movie and come away from it with a sense of understanding about each character, flawed human or not. This is so not true in “Legend”, it could easily be classed with the endless rain of comic book movies coming from Hollywood these days – or maybe not, many of them have a better grasp on human feelings and behavior than the characters in “Legend”. There is plenty of violence in “Legend” but it is solely a superficial examination of the world in which that violence dominates .

There is virtually no reason to see “Legend” that I can think of. If you like Tom Hardy in his earlier years as an actor and you would like to see him utter poly-syllabic words once again, then you might, maybe like the parts of this movie where he woos Francis; then again maybe not.