Krays film is a double delight

Legend, starring Tom Hardy as both Ronnie and Reggie Kray, the infamous twins who ruled London’s underground in the sixties, is one of the best movies I’ve seen for ages.

It’s a true British, and cinematic, classic and if Hardy doesn’t get an Oscar nomination – no, wait a minute, he should get a double Oscar nom should he not – for his role then I’m a monkey’s uncle.

I’ve been a big fan of Hardy’s since seeing him in the Martina Cole series The Take in which he plays another gangster Freddie Jackson.

There’s been a few films about the Krays, not least the limp effort in 1990 that starred Martin and Gary Kemp who just didn’t have enough menace to be convincing gangsters. I believe the real twins also hated it.

I love biopics and have read a lot about the Krays through various accounts and Legend is the Krays film that captures their persona.

Hardy’s portrayal of Ronnie, the psychotic twin, is tremendous, played with both humour and danger.

There’s a scene in a pub where rival gangsters are about to attack the twins and Ronnie lambasts them for not bringing guns because he wants a shootout “like in the westerns”.

Another classic scene is when a court is determining whether Ronnie is mentally fit enough to stay out of hospital and the psychiatrist says he is off his rocker.

He swiftly changes his mind after a threat and the next thing you see is the doctor in the dock stating “Ronnie Kray is one of the most sane human beings” he has ever met.

One thing I will testify to is that you’d be mad to miss this film.