Blu-Ray Review: ‘Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1’ Offers More of the Same

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CHICAGO – Just as Steven Soderbergh’s “Che” and Olivier Assayas’ “Carlos” recounted the true tale of a controversial revolutionary over the span of at least two theatrically released pictures, Jean-François Richet’s 2008 double feature “Mesrine” stages the jaw-dropping amount of robberies and prison escapes committed by its titular French gangster. His resumé is impressive, but his life makes for rather redundant drama.

Though Jacques Mesrine was a member of the French Army during the Algerian War and even dabbled in the Quebec Liberation Front, he appears to have been a much more shallow figure than some have claimed, if this film is of any indication. One of his kidnapped victims makes the valid point that if Mesrine truly were a revolutionary, he would’ve taken the lives of his enemies rather than their money.

Blu-Ray Rating: 3.0/5.0

Even Mesrine’s partners become increasingly skeptical, particularly Charlie Bauer, who argues that the self-righteous robber is doing his cause little good by opulently spending the money he steals. “You’re not destroying capital,” he exclaims, “you’re gratifying it!” With a self-absorption to match that of Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (a.k.a. Carlos), Mesrine is driven by headline-chasing ego rather than virtue. Good thing he’s portrayed by Vincent Cassel, the splendid French actor best known to American audiences for his seductive work as Natalie Portman’s demanding director in “Black Swan.” Viewers may find themselves rooting for Mesrine purely because of Cassel’s unwavering charisma. Richet’s film is easily the most effortlessly entertaining of the recent crime biopics, though its aggressively episodic structure makes one better appreciate the down time offered in a superior picture like “Carlos.” Just as the real-life Mesrine shared various similarities with America’s infamous bank robber, John Dillinger, this two-part epic is sharply reminiscent of Michael Mann’s slick and unsatisfying “Public Enemies.” Both films go through a great deal of trouble recreating their respective periods, only to use them as a backdrop for self-consciously cinematic set-pieces, complete with a bombastic score that drains the material of any tangible realism.

Vincent Cassel and Gérard Depardieu star in Jean-François Richet’s Mesrine: Killer Instinct.
Photo credit: Music Box Films Home Entertainment

While the film’s first half, titled “Killer Instinct,” was based on Mesrine’s autobiography, and charted his rise to international notoriety, the second half kicks off with his spectacular escape (out of a courtroom, no less) that earned the gangster his prized title of “Public Enemy No. 1.” Mesrine would end up spending the last six years of his life attempting to justify that title before being gunned down in a public execution similar to the one that offed Dillinger. At a combined running time exceeding the four hour mark, Richet’s film only manages to pay lip service to the personal life of Mesrine, with a few weepy phone calls and bedside chats to color in the humanity that otherwise remains absent. “Instinct” is the slightly better half, particularly because it offers glimpses at Mesrine’s troubled home life, and the contempt he felt for his timid father, who he suspected was a supporter of the Germans (these scenes make their reconciliation in “Enemy” all the more touching). It also effectively illustrates the brutal treatment of prisoners at Saint-Vincent-de-Paul prison, as well as the corruption that caused Mesrine to believe that escape was not only his right but his “duty.” His departure through the prison fence and his subsequent attempt at freeing additional prisoners are unquestionably the most riveting sequences in both installments.

Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1 was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on March 29, 2011. Photo credit: Music Box Films Home Entertainment

Unfortunately, what was exciting in “Instinct” quickly becomes repetitive in “Enemy,” as the script by Richet and Abdel Raouf Dafri splices together a highlight reel of Mesrine’s escapades that plays less like an epic crime saga and more like a “Fugitive” marathon. The seemingly endless cycle of arrests and break-outs gradually grows tiresome, as Cassel sports a broad array of disguises just this side of a fake nose and glasses. Mesrine’s disposable love interests might as well be a chorus line of Bond girls, since they’re never afforded any character traits beyond an inexplicably instantaneous devotion to the leering crook. Throughout it all, Cassel is a joy to watch, though his magnetism can only carry the film so far. His character’s psyche is so sketchily developed that it fails to make audiences care about what happens to him, thus causing the final twenty minutes to be far less excruciating than they could’ve (and should’ve) been. Audience sympathy shifts from Mesrine to the victims he drags along for the ride, especially the family he orders to smuggle him past the scrutinizing eyes of police.

The most telling line in the film comes from Mesrine’s former inmate and temporary partner-in-crime, François Basse, played by the ever-reliable Mathieu Amalric, his eyes bulging out further than ever. After hearing the latest of Mesrine’s audacious plans on the heels of their near-botched escape from jail, Basse sighs, “You’re a spinning top,” thus offering the perfect encapsulation of the infamous criminal and the film itself. It’s worth noting that Richet’s previous project was the needless yet diverting 2005 remake of “Assault on Precinct 13,” which offered a similar brand of palatable grit, even as it continued to spin its wheels around and around.

“Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1” is presented in impeccable 1080p High Definition (with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio) that brings dazzling clarity to every last drop of blood. Too bad there aren’t any extras besides an optional English-language track for the reading-impaired. Since Cassel’s performance is the main reason to seek out this disc, the very notion of dubbing over his pitch-perfect voice seems like a crime in and of itself.

By MATT FAGERHOLM Staff Writer HollywoodChicago.com matt@hollywoodchicago.com