Unlike Medak’s film, which focused on the relationship between the brothers and their
domineering mother, Helgeland’s film begins in 1966, with
paranoid schizophrenic Ronnie
newly released from a psychiatric ward, thanks to the intimidation of his psychiatrist. Waiting
on the outside is his twin brother
Reggie, who has been building
quite the criminal empire in his
twin’s absence. Thus begins a riff
on Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men,
as Ronnie’s psychotic behaviour
threatens to tear apart everything Reggie has built.
Every piece of marketing
around Legend has centered
around the dual casting of Hardy, and while it’s fascinating to
watch at the outset, it quickly
becomes a millstone around the
film’s neck. The effect is quite
poor when compared to contemporaries like Armie Hammer’s Winklevoss twins in The
Social Network and Sam Rock-
Watch the trailer for Legend
NewJerseyStage.com
2015 - ISSUE 11
ARTICLES
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