Tonight:
2°c
Charlotte O'Sullivan's rating
Take two of Mesrine's gangster tale
By
Charlotte O'Sullivan
28 Aug 2009
A stand-alone film about real-life French gangster Jacques Mesrine, Public Enemy is actually a companion piece to Mesrine: Killer Instinct, also made by Jean-Francois Richet and released three weeks ago.
Covering the last 20 years of Mesrine’s life, it’s essentially What Jacques Did Next.
Richet obviously couldn’t get enough of his bad-boy hero and is hoping audiences feel the same way.
Vincent Cassel is superb in the lead, craggily handsome, steely and volatile. He looks like Anthony Quinn, he acts like Robert De Niro.
Naturally, we’re glued. The film itself is repetitive and generic: daring exploits, imbecile policemen, gorgeous molls, neat one-liners — we’ve seen it all before (Dillinger, anyone?).
But the set-pieces unfold with style and the kidnapping of a grouchy millionaire is a hoot.
Mesrine was nothing if not media-savvy.
He writes an autobiography in jail then boasts to his lawyer that it is mostly made up.
"People like pace," he says with a wry shrug. "Action..." They sure do. And that’s exactly what Richet (equally media-savvy) serves up.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
