Crime saga portraying the story of a vicious underworld gangster who murders without remorse and plays games with law enforcement officers.
Some might wonder why we should be willing to spend our time watching a person commit horrendous acts of brutality.
Perhaps the answer is that we all have a fascination for seeing how criminals are able to escape from high-security prisons and elude the inevitable chasing police.
Some of the most renowned gangster films are Goodfellas, a 1990 film which centers around Henry Hill, a gangster who rises to the very top of the mob; The Untouchables, the story of famous mafioso Al Capone, who is chased by federal agent Eliot Ness; American Gangster, a 2007 flick which tells the story of Frank Lucas, a heroin king from Manhattan; and Public Enemies, which is about notorious American gangster John Dillinger in the 1930s.
The movies have become favorites of movie buffs and attracted the very top actors, including Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Johnny Depp and Denzel Washington.
French director/script writer Jean-François Richet brings the biography of one of the country’s legendary criminals Jacques Mesrine to the big screen through a film duology: Mesrine: Killer Instinct and Mesrine: Public Enemy # 1.
Never heard of Mesrine? He was an infamous criminal who carried out bank robberies, murders, kidnappings, identity changes and prison breaks.
The 2008 critically acclaimed film was a huge success in France, earning 10 nominations at the César Awards, the country’s highest honor in film, winning for best actor and best director.
Moviegoers in Indonesia have to wait for three years before they can watch the second part of the crime saga (I thought this was the second part), titled Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1, also known as Public Enemy Number One: Part Two or L’Ennemi public n° 1, on the cinema.
In Part 2, Mesrine gets a new label “public enemy” as he continues robbing banks and displaying his ability to evade the law.
French police commissioner Broussard (played by Olivier Gourmet) leads the task- force and relentlessly tails the villain until he finally arrests his quarry.
This time, Mesrine is sent to La Sante prison, where he befriends François Besse (Mathieu Amalric), an inmate who is categorized as a dangerous man as he has made several successful prison escapes.
Together with Besse, Mesrine once again plans and pulls off another daring escape before masterfully donning a series of disguises to evade his pursuers.
After freeing themselves from the maximum-security prison, Mesrine and Besse start working together, moonlighting in the world of crime.
Besse is the opposite of the flamboyant Mesrine who has completely different goals from Mesrine. Besse is a quiet, secretive criminal who takes time and care in drawing up his plans.
Besides having a new partner in crime, Mesrine also becomes involved with a new attractive woman named Sylvia (Ludivine Sagnier), who he accidentally meets on the street.
Mesrine, who defines himself as a savior from the tyranny of the banks, plays to the media to maintain his “popularity”.
He transforms himself into a formidable man of a thousand faces and a master of prison-escapes.
Mesrine’s looks and appearances continually change as he performs his crimes in the guise of a myriad of different faces and characters. His ruthlessness, however, becomes startlingly absent when he is with his beloved daughter.
This film still highlights the adventures of Mesrine as a fugitive who aims to maintain his place as the number one gangster in the country.
Even though you will have a greater understanding of the events if you have watched the first film in the duology, the film was designed as a stand-alone and is thus fully comprehensible when viewed on its own.
Vincent Cassel, long known for his bold choice of roles, is definitely the heart beat of the film.
He brilliantly portrays the Mesrine character — a confident, arrogant, egomaniac, narcissist and a charming womanizer as well. He also piled on the kilos to accurately portray the escape artist.
For his remarkable portrayal as Mesrine, Cassel also bagged Best Actor awards at the Lumiere Awards, the Etoile D’Or and the Tokyo International Film Festvial.
Cassel, who began his career in France in 1988, rose to fame when he starred in Mathieu Kassovitz’s La Haine as a troubled youth in Paris.
His popularity in France took him to Hollywood, where he appeared in various English-language films, including Jefferson in Paris, Elizabeth, Derailed, Eastern Promises, and the most recent Oscar-nominated film Black Swan, in which he plays a merciless ballet choreographer.
Verdict: You will be stunned by the slickness of this notorious villain, who easily escapes from prison and hides behind a series of disguises.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/03/13/the-thousand-faces-jacques-mesrine.html
