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Mesrine: Public Enemy Number One

  • Film
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • Recommended
Mesrine.jpg
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Time Out says

4 out of 5 stars
While ‘Mesrine: Death Instinct’ chronicled the ascendancy of Vincent Cassel’s cocksure French crim, Jacques Mesrine, this second chapter ditches the mechanics of his life story in favour of a ruminative, often unsympathetic inspection of his contradictory character traits (as reflected in an ever-changing wardrobe of disguises). The early stages hint at a ‘Heat’-like battle of wits between Mesrine and tireless police commissioner Broussard (Oliver Gourmet), but a last-minute escape from justice puts the spotlight back on Cassel. The film continues as a wandering account of how Mesrine’s various antics and encounters shaped him as a person. Unlike its more lively predecessor, this is more interested in dissecting the criminal mindset and proposes the theory that the acts of a felon prevent him or her from being able to maintain logical personal and political ideals. In one scene, for example, Mesrine violently forces a family to hide him from the cops, then, the next minute, he’s handing over loot in return for their services.
Written by David Jenkins

Release Details

  • Rated:15
  • Release date:Friday 28 August 2009

Cast and crew

  • Director:Jean-François Richet
  • Cast:
    • Vincent Cassel
    • Ludivine Sagnier
    • Mathieu Amalric
    • Gérard Lanvin
    • Samuel Le Bihan
    • Olivier Gourmet
    • Michel Duchaussoy
    • Myriam Boyer
    • Anne Consigny
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