The Krays

I’d heard good things over the years and am glad to have finally seen this 1990 dramatization of the lives of twin London gangsters, coldblooded killers who were twisted just a bit in the wrong way by their Mum.

The Krays are Ronnie and Reggie, born in the depths of the Depression to a poor family completely dominated by Violet Kray, backed up by her sisters and mother. The men in the family are barely there; the boys father is an ethereal presence and GrandDad is only interested in getting up to a bit of mischief. I never did understand where the food and rent money came from.

Though this is a decent movie and the potential was there, two problems leave it short of greatness. First, the Kray boys are played by Martin and Gary Kemp and, while they’re also twins and share an exquisite sense of style with the real mobsters, neither is really that good an actor. Just a bit too stiff in movement and delivering dialog.

Second, writer Phillip Ridley and director Peter Medak try to cover too much of the boys lives in 119 minutes. If I remember correctly there were half a dozen scenes at varying intervals showing bits of their childhood but if it were me I would have started with the episode at a carnival when they got in a ring and boxed each other.

Once can understand the desire to show how their mother created their personalities, one sociopathic and the other psychopathic, but we never see how their careers in crime begin or even any particularly significant capers. The only crimes we see are them beating or murdering other gangsters!

moderately recommended