Mesrine: Killer Instinct

Every once in awhile a foreign language film will blow me away. Reading subtitles can divide your focus, so when this is accomplished, I’m especially impressed. But when I saw Mesrine: Killer Instinct, not only was I appreciative of the film, I witnessed one of the best performances that I’ve seen so far this year. It is the performance that I had hoped to see when Johnny Depp played John Dillinger. I was disappointed with that film, but with Vincent Cassel (Oceans Twelve) as legendary mobster, Jacques Mesrine, I was completely captivated. It won him a Cesar Award in France. I only hope to see him at our Academy Awards this year.

Mesrine is a famous French criminal from the 70’s who continued his crime spree in Quebec, Canada. He was flashy, charismatic and a bit of a media darling. With his female accomplice they were called a modern day Bonnie and Clyde. His spectacular capture was followed by a even more spectacular prison escape. And this is where the first film ends. Part Two will continue the saga ending with Mesrine’s violent death. The film begins with this ambush and then takes us back in time to fill in the details of his notorious rise. I was very interested in getting to know how a man’s life can end up in such bloody place.

Vincent Cassel remembers Mesrine’s death. It happened when he was just a little boy. What makes this movie so fascinating is the line that Vincent Cassel walks. On one hand Mesrine is sensitive, loving, a caring father and a charming ladies man, but on the other hand he is racist, has problems with authority, beats his wife and is a cold-blooded killer. Vincent Cassel walks this tightrope and shows us all sides of Mesrine’s personality. Yet, even after that, you still like the guy, even when his actions shock and repulse you.

I was unfamiliar with Mesrine going into this film, but like Che Guevara or Scarface in America, he is a popular anti-hero in Europe. If he was as familiar to me as Jesse James, or John Dillinger, I may know how the story ends. But since I did not grow up with his legend, I guess I’ll have to see the other part of this film. The movie is not much different than many of the gangster stories that we’ve seen in the cinema or on TV, but makes this film special is the performances. Gerard Depardieu (Cyrano de Bergerac) is also in this movie as a mob boss who initiates Mesrine into his life of crime. The other supporting parts are also nicely rendered. I especially like the peek at Mesrine’s parents. We often wonder how killers are made. Are they born that way or does society create them? Mesrine is a fascinating, if bloody subject.

Rating: First Run A bloody good performance by Cassel