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Ron was an out and proud “poofter” (in one witty scene he startles an American mafiosi with his honesty) while Reggie is fiercely loyal to his East End roots.
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The striking thing about them is that they did everything on their own terms and remained true to their roots and themselves in ways that were ahead of their time. It is a remarkable achievement artistically and technically seeing an actor play more than one character on screen at the same time is nothing new (Jeremy Irons pulled it off memorably in David Cronenberg’s Dead Ringers in 1988) but it’s still mightily impressive. Hardy is instantly recognisable in both roles yet strikingly different in appearance, gait and personality. Their blood bond proved both the making of them and their downfall. As the twins Hardy is simply sensational both as Reggie, the smooth “normal” one, and Ron, the unhinged one with an appetite for young men. Legend is a riveting, funny and beautifully-made portrait of a pair of “gangster princes” who tried, and almost succeeded, in remaking the world in their own image: a glamorous, amoral, anything goes universe where the laws of the land, the laws of common decency and the laws of nature (Ron was a paranoid schizophrenic) could be merrily disregarded. Well, when you have Tom Hardy playing both the twins, Reggie and Ronnie, and writer/director Brian Helgeland behind the camera (whose screenplays include LA Confidential and Mystic River) the answer is an emphatic yes. We all know they were diamond geezers who loved their mother and kept the East End safe as houses.
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Legend (18, 140mins) Director: Brian Helgeland Stars: Tom Hardy, Emily Browning, David Thewlis, Christopher Eccleston