The story of the Kray twins gets yet another treatment in the hands of the
L.A. Confidential screenwriter Helgeland, and you know what to expect by now: a staple myth of 'sixties popular culture where the passage of time since then lends a certain patina to essentially foul characters, now almost anti-heroes. This one polarises the two brothers to a greater extent than previous depictions, with Ronnie, the gay and more unhinged one, made almost autistic and Reggie in turn mostly shown as trapped in the criminal life by the burden of being his brother's keeper. So you don't need to know all the facts to deduce that heavy simplification is being imposed for filmic effect.
Given other casting then, it might have sunk without much of a trace. But they managed to get Tom Hardy to play the gangster siblings, and he saves the whole film single-handed: as with so many of his performances, you can't take your eyes off him and soon forget that he's playing both of them, such is the difference in the portrayals, right down to fine details in body language. As for the actual story though, it can really now be put to rest: there's nothing more to be said about a pair of thugs who briefly upset the status quo fifty years ago.
6/10
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