In a departure from the normal "rise and fall" format, this fact-based movie focuses on the personal lives of the legendary London gangsters and attempts to show how their upbringing moulded them into the notorious villains that they eventually became. The relationships that they had with their mother and each other were undoubtedly the most significant factors in determining how they conducted themselves as individuals but a key meeting with an inmate that they encountered in a military prison is also portrayed as being pivotal to the direction that their criminal careers ultimately took.
Born in 1933, identical twins, Ronnie (Gary Kemp) and Reggie Kray (Martin Kemp) were brought up in a female dominated, working-class milieu in London's East End and from the very beginning were doted on by their overprotective mother Violet (Billie Whitelaw) who taught them to be fiercely loyal to each other. Their father, Charlie (Alfred Lynch) was a draft dodger and gambler who lived under the thumb of Violet and her female coterie and like men in general, was consistently berated by these women. As children, the twins became obsessed with crocodiles and snakes and became school bullies. When Ronnie was hospitalized with diphtheria and Violet didn't believe that he was getting the treatment he needed, she and her sisters etc. forcefully discharged him from hospital after abusing his doctor both verbally and physically.
After being conscripted into National Service, the recalcitrant brothers soon showed their unwillingness to conform to Army discipline by assaulting their sergeant and this led to a period in a military prison where a meeting with another inmate convinced them that their power to instil fear into other people would make it easy for them to achieve whatever they wanted. This inspired them to launch the very successful protection racket that became the foundation for the major criminal enterprise that they subsequently built and their acquisition of some nightclubs soon brought them into contact with numerous celebrities, aristocrats and MPs and provided them with a veneer of respectability, in the early 1960s.
As adults, the brothers remained devoted and obedient to their mother and visibly glowed at the compliments she gave them on their success and the Savile Row suits that made them "look like proper little gentlemen". As brothers, their extraordinary closeness manifested in them dreaming the same dreams and having the capacity to finish each other's sentences. Ronnie was a brutal psychopath and as the dominant twin, was always a strong influence on Reggie. A problem arose one night in one of their clubs when Ronnie saw Reggie chatting up a young woman called Frances (Kate Hardie) and on feeling intensely jealous, turned his anger on a random customer, who had the misfortune to be standing close to him and after some threatening verbal exchanges, in an act of gross brutality, took him outside and used a sword to give him "a permanent smile".
Reggie later married Frances but their happiness was short-lived because she couldn't adjust to his lifestyle or being constrained from even buying her own clothes and after suffering a breakdown, she tragically committed suicide.
The Krays' story is fascinating but some of the violent scenes in this movie are grotesque and deeply unpleasant to watch. Martin and Gary Kemp of "Spandau Ballet" fame are surprisingly convincing as the twin bothers and Billie Whitelaw is superb as their mother. The supporting cast is uniformly good with Jimmy Jewel standing out as the twins' larger-than-life grandfather who inspired their interest in boxing, regaled them with colourful accounts of "Jack The Ripper's" exploits and even throws in an enthusiastic performance of "Balling The Jack" for good measure. Overall, this is a very worthwhile movie that entertains and informs but also generates interest to learn more about these kings of organised crime who seemed to be able to carry on their criminal activities for a very long time before eventually being brought to justice in March 1969.
Born in 1933, identical twins, Ronnie (Gary Kemp) and Reggie Kray (Martin Kemp) were brought up in a female dominated, working-class milieu in London's East End and from the very beginning were doted on by their overprotective mother Violet (Billie Whitelaw) who taught them to be fiercely loyal to each other. Their father, Charlie (Alfred Lynch) was a draft dodger and gambler who lived under the thumb of Violet and her female coterie and like men in general, was consistently berated by these women. As children, the twins became obsessed with crocodiles and snakes and became school bullies. When Ronnie was hospitalized with diphtheria and Violet didn't believe that he was getting the treatment he needed, she and her sisters etc. forcefully discharged him from hospital after abusing his doctor both verbally and physically.
After being conscripted into National Service, the recalcitrant brothers soon showed their unwillingness to conform to Army discipline by assaulting their sergeant and this led to a period in a military prison where a meeting with another inmate convinced them that their power to instil fear into other people would make it easy for them to achieve whatever they wanted. This inspired them to launch the very successful protection racket that became the foundation for the major criminal enterprise that they subsequently built and their acquisition of some nightclubs soon brought them into contact with numerous celebrities, aristocrats and MPs and provided them with a veneer of respectability, in the early 1960s.
As adults, the brothers remained devoted and obedient to their mother and visibly glowed at the compliments she gave them on their success and the Savile Row suits that made them "look like proper little gentlemen". As brothers, their extraordinary closeness manifested in them dreaming the same dreams and having the capacity to finish each other's sentences. Ronnie was a brutal psychopath and as the dominant twin, was always a strong influence on Reggie. A problem arose one night in one of their clubs when Ronnie saw Reggie chatting up a young woman called Frances (Kate Hardie) and on feeling intensely jealous, turned his anger on a random customer, who had the misfortune to be standing close to him and after some threatening verbal exchanges, in an act of gross brutality, took him outside and used a sword to give him "a permanent smile".
Reggie later married Frances but their happiness was short-lived because she couldn't adjust to his lifestyle or being constrained from even buying her own clothes and after suffering a breakdown, she tragically committed suicide.
The Krays' story is fascinating but some of the violent scenes in this movie are grotesque and deeply unpleasant to watch. Martin and Gary Kemp of "Spandau Ballet" fame are surprisingly convincing as the twin bothers and Billie Whitelaw is superb as their mother. The supporting cast is uniformly good with Jimmy Jewel standing out as the twins' larger-than-life grandfather who inspired their interest in boxing, regaled them with colourful accounts of "Jack The Ripper's" exploits and even throws in an enthusiastic performance of "Balling The Jack" for good measure. Overall, this is a very worthwhile movie that entertains and informs but also generates interest to learn more about these kings of organised crime who seemed to be able to carry on their criminal activities for a very long time before eventually being brought to justice in March 1969.