Film: Mesrine
Release date: 25th January 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 237 mins
Director: Jean-François Richet
Starring: Vincent Cassel, Cécile De France, Gérard Depardieu, Gilles Lellouche, Roy Dupuis
Genre: Crime/Action/Thriller/Drama
Studio: Momentum
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: France
The critical and commercial success of this film has brought the name of gangster Jacques Mesrine to much wider attention than simply that of his homeland, France – and, as the biopic illustrates; it’s a level of notoriety he would have basked in.
Mesrine was a thorn in the authorities’ sides for nearly two decades, committing countless robberies, murders and escapes – so many that a film depiction warranted two lengthy features – Mesrine: Killer Instinct and Mesrine: Public Enemy Number 1 . Each feature was released separately in cinemas, but both have been released together on DVD. Given the seamless continuation of the timeline over both movies, it’s the correct decision – far less two separate movies than a single movie having been split out of consideration for bottoms, but not our wallets.
In the first film, we follow Mesrine from his time serving in the French Army during the Algerian War, in the late-50s, to his return to France, where he was easily swayed to follow a life of crime (flash cars, beautiful women…), starting relatively small scale (robbing people’s homes) before becoming involved with big-time gangster Guido (suitable sleazy performance from the ever reliable Gérard Depardieu). This feature shows a younger, more suave and charming Mesrine, and the majority of his criminal activities are covered here – as well as the more exciting action set pieces (his prison escapes will have action junkies on the edge of their seats) – as he works his way quickly up the criminal ladder.
The second movie starts in similarly thrilling fashion – as our protagonist escapes from court – but the events at the back end of the first film have left him more jaded – he’s now overweight, unkempt, and his crimes less glamorous, including the kidnap of an old man for ransom money. He’s also consumed with paranoia and obsessed with his public image…
A film of this ilk stands or falls largely by the central performance, but Vincent Cassel nails it – never in doubt if you’ve seen his performance in Irréversible. From the cocky two-bit criminal with an eye for the ladies, to the world-weary, pot-bellied has-been, Vincent embodies every stage in Jacques life, and is totally believable as a man capable of cold blooded murder in one scene (violently stabbing a pimp to death), and charming a lady into his bed the next (and he manages a few).
For a running time of 237 minutes, over both films, however, there’s a surprising lack of depth. Minimal character development for the supporting cast, as we quickly hop from one event to another (sometimes bypassing years) without any indication, and with little understanding of what took Jacques there. Choosing not to delve too far into his psyche, or explain the choices he made, the film is somewhat shallow and showy (production values are second to none) – cramming in as many crimes as possible for an electrifying rollercoaster ride that is representative of Hollywood more than European cinema.
However, when it comes to action, they’ve stayed within the realms of realism – from large scale shootouts to car chases; you can believe this is exactly how events went down. It’s also this level of authenticity that makes Mesrine’s more odious acts completely convincing, and therefore more unsettling, including the murder of a reporter who dared to give him negative press.
Unlike Hollywood, also, the film doesn’t glorify or put Mesrine onto an iconic pedestal. He’s a bad husband (who’ll force a gun into his wife’s mouth), uncaring father, selfish, egotistical and downright nasty. Unlike many criminal biopics, where we are asked to empathise with the figure because of a life of poverty or ill treatment, we are shown that Mesrine comes from a comfortable home, a kind and good natured parentage, and is motivated purely by his craving for self-reward and celebrity – taking great pleasure when he earns Public Enemy #1 status.
He’s also far from infallible. Rather than giving the authorities the run around and getting to enjoy his ill-gotten gains, his plans are continuously botched (there’s a wonderful apt comical touch when the song Stand By Your Name comes on the radio after another plan is bungled); he gets caught on numerous occasions, and dealt fairly cruel punishment (the scenes where we see him brutally beaten and tortured by guards are particularly off-putting – Cassel afforded the opportunity to flex his acting muscles in the subsequent breakdown); and he is never presented as content in his chosen lifestyle – moving from seedy nightclubs to hiding out in the backwoods (there’s no glamour to his surroundings or associates). This is a man who led a life we can now pity rather than take any kind of voyeuristic pleasure from.
Even if the filmmakers were always a bit too eager to get to the exciting bits, the lack of sugar-coating and Vincent Cassel’s career-defining performance make this one of Europe’s best-ever crime flicks. DH
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