Mesrine: Instinct de Mort

[Guest]

Just watched this, and really enjoyed it -- Vincent Cassel plays a suave, psychopathic gangster who stabs and shoots his way up the criminal ladder in 1960s/1970s France. Gerard Depardieu has a supporting role as a baleful capo.

Not quite an out-and-out classic, but a very satisfying thriller. I've got a download link with subtitles if anyone wants it.

[TMA]

Mesrine: Instinct de Mort

Sounds intriguing - I'd certainly be up for a link. Seems there was an earlier film made of the story: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087712/

[Guest]

Mesrine: Instinct de Mort

PM.

[Guest]

Mesrine: Instinct de Mort

Saw this the other day. As it's only the first part (Mesrine: Public Enemy Number 1 is due in a few weeks), it's difficult to fully appraise it but, in its own right, very good. The prison scenes in particular are highly effective and compelling.

What I also liked about it was how it felt like a 1970s thriller. It wasn't just the retro stylings (pleasingly underdone) but the general look and pacing seemed to be harking back to a different era of film-making without being an obvious homage. Its slightly dubious morality added to this too.

I'd never heard of Mesrine before I read about this film. Apparently, he's still a pretty well-known 'folk hero' in France and Canada (Can anyone on here verify this?). Despite this and despite being based on Mesrine's own book, he's still presented as a very nasty character. It's not just his brutal violence; he's also racist and, in one unpleasant scene, pretty nasty to his wife.

However, Vincent Cassel's performance means you're always engaged. Personally, I find him one of the most watchable actors out there and he dominates this. Someone like Depardieu is more than capable of stealing a film but, as with the rest of the cast, he stands aside and lets Cassel rip.

Looking forward to the second part. I suspect there will be (more) blood.

[Rumpus]

Mesrine: Instinct de Mort

I got bored with this as I never bought into the central character or his motives.

He seemed a collection of ill-matched character traits rather than a believable person.

In much the same way the movie becomes a copy of every Hollywood gangster fantasy.

[gt3]

Mesrine: Instinct de Mort

Saw Pt2 the other day. It's great. What I think is a great bit of directing/editing/film making in general is to open the first movie showing how the story ends and yet two movies later be able to make the ending a tense climax.

Cassel's performance really does keep you engaged. He may well have been a collection of ill matched character traits but maybe he was? And maybe that's why I found Mesrine's character absorbing, where you found it unengaging Rumpus.

I think the movie played on our knowledge of Hollywood gangster movies but never strayed into simply being a copy of them. Foe example I don't think Hollywood would have the courage now to deal with the beginning of both movies and the end of the second in the way that these did.

In some ways I thought it was a good counter-point to the "Baader Meinhof Complex". Their nihilism was matched by his but their reasons for behaving as they did were markedly different. As one of his accomplices says in pt2, "You don't want to smash Capitalism. You want to be flattered by it".

[RobW]

Mesrine: Instinct de Mort

I think these 2 films are likely to be my favourites of 2009. Compelling performances, wonderful dark humour and brilliantly shot/edited. Loved how the opening scene in the first part, and the closing scene in part 2 covered the same ground but from different perspectives. Two very good films, and i'll be buying the DVD when it comes out.

[gt3]

Mesrine: Instinct de Mort

robw - yes, one thing I forgot to mention in my post was the often very dark humour, which left one feeling a little ashamed at laughing. Very good and indeed, in the running for my movies of the year also.

[loose cannon]

Mesrine: Instinct de Mort

Mesrine has long captivated France - basically a scumbag who had no hesitation about commiting high profile crimes. He even went so far as to abduct and torture a journalist who penned a critical article about him.

Shades of Boorman and his film the General, basically glorifying pathalogical criminals

[gt3]

Mesrine: Instinct de Mort

**************mild spoiler******************************

That sequence with the journalist appears in the second movie loose cannon. I was going to say that he (Mesrine) doesn't copme out of it well, but heck, does he come out out of any of it well? It's certainly not a sympathetic portrayalof Mesrine.

Your post has actually raised an interesting philosphical question for me. Am I being too post modern in my film watching and thereby allowing the reality of Mesrine's scumbagginess pass me by? Hmmm...

[Ginger Yellow]

I was going to say that he (Mesrine) doesn't copme out of it well, but heck, does he come out out of any of it well?

Funnily enough, the main impression I got of him from the films, other than his narcissism and penchant for violence, was that he was a really shit criminal. If it hadn't been for his knack for escaping, he'd never have amounted to anything - pretty much every job he does in the films involves him fucking up somehow.