York would be a decade later,
but Legend may as well be set in
Coventry in 1973 for all the context we’re given.
At over two hours, the film
wastes a lot of time on extended
dialogue scenes, telling us constantly how powerful the Krays
are, but it rarely demonstrates
this visually. Much of the film
focuses on the doomed relationship between Reggie and
his young bride Frances (Emily
Browning), who provides an unnecessary voiceover narration,
and if you’ve seen any gangster movie, their argumentative
scenes together will feel all too
familiar. A sub-plot involving
Chazz Palminteri’s representative
of the American Mafia leads nowhere, and feels inserted purely
to help sell the movie Stateside.
Christopher Eccleston pops
up as the cop investigating the
brothers, but this is another element that’s barely covered.
The sight of Tom Hardy attempting to out-act himself is
just about enough to hold your
attention for a good portion of
the film, but after a while the
lack of substance begins to
weigh heavy and the strings become all too visible. East End?
More like dead end!
Legend
3 stars out of 5
Directed by: Brian Helgeland
Starring: Tom Hardy, Emily Browning,
Taron Egerton, Paul Bettany,
Christopher Eccleston, David Thewlis,
Chazz Palminteri, Tara Fitzgerald
NewJerseyStage.com
2015 - ISSUE 11
ARTICLES
90