Mesrine
Now playing in select theaters, the two part gangster epic "Mesrine: Killer Instinct" and "Mesrine: Public Enemy No.1" tells the remarkable true story of legendary French criminal Jacques Mesrine. Directed by Jean Francois Richet, who also directed "Assault on Precinct 13", the movies are anchored by a strong performance by the actor who could be considered France's Robert de Niro, France's George Clooney, France's Leonardo di Caprio. Vincent Cassel gives an amazing performance as a psychopath who is hard to sympathize with, yet who we can't take our eyes off of.
In real life, Jacques Mesrine left a trail of bank robberies, kidnappings, and several successful prison breaks in his wake in France, Canada and the U.S. The true story is all in Mesrine's Wikipedia page, but naturally, there are spoilers! Of course, a life of crime that spanned nearly 20 years and two continents is perfect material for the movies. In "Mesrine: Killer Instinct", we see how Mesrine climbed his way through the criminal underworld from novice thief to feared mastermind. Amazingly, fleeing France after creating a few unsavory enemies, Mesrine and his girlfriend end up in Montreal, where they find work as the chauffeur and maid, respectively, of a Canadian multimillionaire. How do you think that turns out?
The sequel, "Mesrine: Public Enemy No.1", follows the criminal's later years in France. Vincent Cassel gives life to a larger than life character throughout four hours of two movies, no easy feat. You don't need to watch one movie to see the other, but if you only see one, the first, "Killer Instinct" should be it. And if you're still not convinced, here is the trailer for "Mesrine: Killer Instinct". See one or both films while you can.
