Saturday, August 27, 2011
GANGSTER
Today's film was the first part of the French biopic
L'ennemi public n°1 / Mesrine: Part One Killer Instinct (2008)
A NYTimes Critics' PIck
Vincent Cassel excels as Mesrine, an infamous French criminal. And infamous in Quebec and the US!
There is no gang. There are affiliates but it is all Mesrine's show. And it is a true story although they say that "there is some fiction in all biography". A nice out.
The thing about Mesrine is ego. The pride that he has in his work. Cassel is a wonderfully arrogant, charismatic guy. Even jail, the worst of them, is a challenge.
There is a great interview with Cassel in the NYTimes review at the link.
The film is wonderfully done. The opening is genius. The momentum sustained.
This is like the old gangster films but with all the updates. He lived these movies so the circle becomes complete.
Part One takes us from the time of his discharge from the French army in Algeria and into the 90s when he seems defeated and isolated as an alien in Canada. On the run.
I am liking it a lot. No rating until we are done. Part One could stand alone but I won't deal with it that way.
Oh. Wonderful performance by Gérard Depardieu as a crime boss.
Labels: films
