I'm 3/5 of the way done with my paper on British history so I thought I'd stop and revisit some more modern history with the Kray twins of 1960s London.Ronnie (Tom Hardy) and Reggie Kray (also Tom Hardy) are twin gangsters. Reg is the brains, suave and dapper, while Ron is a total psychopath. Together, they run multiple nightclubs and rackets all over London and woo their respective flames, Frances (Emily Browning) and Teddy (Taron Egerton). They are even being courted by the American mafia. But when Reg goes to prison, Ron starts to fall apart without his brother and Frances realizes that Reg is never going to go straight with the twin pressures of easy money and familial obligation tugging on him.
This is a slick, very stylish film with a fantastic performance from Tom Hardy. Each twin is a distinct personality, which is immediately apparent on top of the visual differences (one has glasses, one doesn't; one has lower jaw prosthetics, one doesn't). The supporting cast is also excellent. I don't know that it would be at the top of anyone's year-end list but it's a solid period gangster film. I had never heard of the Krays so everything was new to me. Maybe British people would feel differently.
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