Mesrine (2008 film)

Mesrine
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Jean-François Richet
Produced by	Thomas Langmann André Rouleau Maxime Rémillard Executive Producer: Daniel Delume
Written by	Abdel Raouf Dafri Jean-François Richet
Starring	Vincent Cassel
Music by	Part One: Eloi Painchaud Part Two: Marco Beltrami Marcus Trumpp
Cinematography	Robert Gantz
Editing by	Part One: Eloi Painchaud Part Two: Bill Pankow Hervé Schneid
Distributed by	Pathé
Release date(s)	Part One: 22 October 2008 Part Two: 19 November 2008
Running time	246 minutes Part One: 113 minutes Part Two: 133 minutes
Country	France Canada
Language	English French
Budget	$80,000,000
Box office	$49,796,294

Mesrine is a two-part (Mesrine: Killer Instinct and Mesrine: Public Enemy Number One) 2008 French film directed by Jean-François Richet and written by Abdel Raouf Dafri and Richet. The first part's script was based on the autobiographical book L'instinct de mort by French gangster Jacques Mesrine, while the second part detailed Mesrine's criminal career after his escape from prison, and his subsequent brutal reffered to as the French version of the American film Scarface which starred Al Pacino.

Parts

The film is divided into two parts, with various titles:

1. Mesrine: L'instinct de mort (French for "Mesrine: Instinct for Death"); known in English as Public Enemy Number One (Part One), Mesrine: Part 1 - Death Instinct and Mesrine: Killer Instinct
2. Mesrine: L'ennemi public № 1 (French for "Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1"); known in English as 'Public Enemy Number One (Part Two), Mesrine: Part 2 - Public Enemy #1 and Mesrine: Public Enemy Number One

Cast

Part 1 and 2

• Vincent Cassel as Jacques Mesrine
• Ludivine Sagnier as Sylvie Jeanjacquot
• Michel Duchaussoy as Pierre André Mesrine (Mesrine's father)
• Myriam Boyer as Mesrine's mother

Part 1

• Cécile De France as Jeanne Schneider
• Gérard Depardieu as Guido
• Gilles Lellouche as Paul
• Roy Dupuis as Jean-Paul Mercier
• Elena Anaya as Sofia
• Florence Thomassin as Sarah
• Abdelhafid Metalsi as Ahmed
• Gilbert Sicotte as the billionaire
• Deano Clavet as Roger André

Part 2

• Mathieu Amalric as François Besse
• Gérard Lanvin as Charly Bauer
• Samuel Le Bihan as Michel Ardouin
• Olivier Gourmet as Commissioner Broussard
• Anne Consigny as Mesrine's advocate
• Georges Wilson as Henri Lelièvre

Awards and nominations

Part 1 and 2

• César Awards (France)
  • Won: Best Actor – Leading Role (Vincent Cassel)
  • Won: Best Director (Jean-François Richet)
  • Won: Best Sound (Hervé Buirette, François Groult, Gérard Hardy, Jean Minondo, Loïc Prian and Alexandre Widmer)
  • Nominated: Best Cinematography (Robert Gantz)
  • Nominated: Best Costume Design (Virginie Montel)
  • Nominated: Best Editing (Bill Pankow and Hervé Schneid)
  • Nominated: Best Film
  • Nominated: Best Music Written for a Film (Marco Beltrami and Marcus Trumpp)
  • Nominated: Best Production Design (Emile Ghigo)
  • Nominated: Best Writing – Adaptation (Abdel Raouf Dafri and Jean-François Richet)

• Tokyo International Film Festival (Japan)
  • Won: Best Actor (Vincent Cassel)

Reception

The critic aggregator RottenTomatoes certified the movie "fresh" with both parts having 84% of critics favorable. The first part was found "undeniably uneven, but Vincent Cassel's electrifying performance makes Mesrine: Killer Instinct a gangster biopic worth seeking out. " Meanwhile the second one also put emphasis on the lead actor's performance : "Vincent Cassel is mesmerizing in the lead role. Even if it's less focused than its predecessor, it's more fun. "

External links

• Official website
• Part 1 (L'instinct de mort) at the Internet Movie Database
• Part 2 (L'ennemi public n°1) at the Internet Movie Database