In the 1960s, Reggie Kray is a former boxer who has become an important part of the criminal underground in London. At the start of the film, his twin brother Ron is locked up in a psychiatric hospital for paranoid schizophrenia. Reggie uses threats to obtain the premature release of his brother. The twins unite their efforts to control a large part of London's criminal underworld, made easier when the head of the south London Richardson Gang (a.k.a. the Torture Gang) is imprisoned. One of their first efforts is to muscle in on the control of a local nightclub, using extortion and brutal violence.
Reg enters into a relationship with Frances, his driver's sister, whom he eventually marries. When he is imprisoned for a previous criminal conviction, which he cannot evade, she makes him swear that he will leave his criminal life behind, an oath he never honours owing to the allure of crime. While Reg is in prison, Ron's mental instability and violent temperament lead to severe financial setbacks at the nightclub, and it is almost forced to close after Ron scares away most of the customers. On the first night after Reg's release from prison, the brothers have an all-out fist fight, but they manage to patch things up, at least partially.
The brothers are approached by Angelo Bruno of the Philadelphia crime family who, on behalf of Meyer Lansky and the American Mafia, wants to engage them in a crime-syndicate deal. Bruno agrees to a fifty-fifty deal with Reg to split London's underground gambling profits in exchange for local protection by the brothers. Initially, this system is highly lucrative for the Kray brothers; however, Ron's paranoia and inclination towards violence causes problems for Reg's efforts to maintain control. Ron's barely concealed volatility results in him publicly murdering George Cornell, an associate of the Torture Gang. As a result, Scotland Yard opens a full investigation of the Kray brothers.
Reg's marriage with Frances crumbles owing to his addiction to crime. Unable to bear Reg's false promises to reform, Frances starts consuming prescription drugs illegally. After he beats and rapes her in a fit of rage, she leaves him. When Reg approaches her to reconcile, Frances seems to agree and they plan to visit Ibiza, but she kills herself with a drug overdose, leaving Reg ridden with guilt. The twins' criminal activities continue, and Ron pays petty criminal Jack "the Hat" McVitie to kill Leslie Payne, Reg's partner, who controls the legal side of the Krays' operations, as he does not trust Payne. Jack only wounds Payne, who then turns the brothers over to Detective Superintendent Leonard "Nipper" Read, the head of the investigation. Reg finds out and brutally stabs McVitie with a knife during a party hosted by Ron. The testimony given by Payne means that Ron is arrested and charged with Cornell's murder. The final scene shows a police squad breaking down the door to Reggie's flat in order to apprehend him for McVitie's murder.
The closing captions indicate both brothers receiving criminal convictions for murder. They died five years apart, Ron from a heart attack in 1995, and Reggie from bladder cancer in 2000.
In addition, Paul Bettany makes an uncredited cameo appearance as Charlie Richardson, whose South London Richardson Gang (also known as the Torture Gang) engaged in a turf war with the Krays.
Production
Development
On 12 October 2013, it was announced that Brian Helgeland had written a script and would be directing a film focusing on the life of Reggie Kray who, with identical brother Ronald, formed the notorious Kray twins. Helgeland said the film would concentrate on Reggie's attempts to control the psychopathic tendencies of his younger twin.
Helgeland spoke of hanging out in London with well-known Krays associate Freddie Foreman, saying, "I had drinks with him in his local haunt. When we finished he got up to go and they feted him at the bar. I said to him, 'what about the bill?' and he replied, 'we don't pay.'"[10]
On 18 April 2014, it was announced that Helgeland would write and direct the film, with the shooting being based in the United Kingdom and with Hardy starring as the male leads.[13] Five days later, it was stated that Browning was in negotiations for a role as the film's female lead.[14] Hardy was so set on playing Ronnie Kray that he proposed to Helgeland that if he gave him the role of Ronnie, Hardy would play the role of Reggie for free.
Financing for Legend was provided by StudioCanal, which also distributed in the United Kingdom, France, New Zealand and Germany in addition to handling international sales, which started at the beginning of the Cannes Film Festival.[18] On 30 April 2014, Cross Creek Pictures acquired the North American distribution rights to Legend from StudioCanal, with a planned 2015 theatrical release through Universal Pictures in its distribution deal with the studio.[19][20] Sales to other territories such as Asia, Africa and much of Europe are being completed.[21] The film was originally set for release in the US on 2 October 2015, but it was moved to 20 November 2015.[22]
On 13 June 2014, the first image of the film was published, featuring Hardy as the Kray twins.[6][23] A promotional poster attracted publicity because it made a two-star review from The Guardian appear to be at least a four-star review by placing the two stars between the heads of the Krays.[24][25]
Home media
Legend was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United Kingdom on 25 January 2016 and in the United States on 1 March 2016.[26]
Reception
Critical reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 60% of 171 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "As a gangster biopic, Legend is deeply flawed, but as a showcase for Tom Hardy—in a dual role, no less—it just about lives up to its title."[27]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 55 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[28]
Box office
Legend grossed US$28.0million in the United Kingdom, and marked seven weeks in the Top 10 at the British box office.[29] In addition, it grossed $1.9million in the United States and Canada, and $13.1million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $43.0million,[29] against a budget shy of $25million.[30]
