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Overview

User Rating:
7.4/10   2,877 votes
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Writers:
Abdel Raouf Dafri (scenario)
Abdel Raouf Dafri (adaptation) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1 on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
19 November 2008 (Belgium) more
Plot:
The story of notorious French gangster Jacques Mesrine. The follow-up film to "Public Enemy No. 1." full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
6 wins & 7 nominations more
User Comments:
Lands successfully between crime thriller, gangster saga and character study more (10 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Vincent Cassel ... Jacques Mesrine
Ludivine Sagnier ... Sylvie Jeanjacquot
Mathieu Amalric ... François Besse
Gérard Lanvin ... Charly Bauer

Samuel Le Bihan ... Michel Ardouin
Olivier Gourmet ... Le commissaire Broussard
Michel Duchaussoy ... Le père de Jacques Mesrine
Myriam Boyer ... La mère de Jacques Mesrine
Anne Consigny ... L'avocate de Jacques Mesrine
Georges Wilson ... Henri Lelièvre
Alain Fromager ... Jacques Dallier - journaliste pour Minute
Alain Doutey ... Le président du tribunal à Compiègne
Laure Marsac ... La journaliste interview
Arsène Mosca ... Jojo - un policier

Christophe Vandevelde ... Inspecteur Gégé
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1 (UK) (USA)
Mesrine: Public Enemy Number One (UK) (alternative spelling) (USA) (alternative spelling)
Mesrine - L'ennemi public n° 1 (France) (poster title)
Mesrine: L'ennemi public n° 1 (France) (promotional title)
Mesrine: Part 2 - Public Enemy #1 (International: English title)
Mesrine: Part II - Public Enemy #1 (International: English title)
Public Enemy No. 1, Part 2 (International: English title)
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Runtime:
133 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Barbet Schroeder was originally hired to direct the two Mesrine movies. He went on to direct Inju, la bête dans l'ombre (2008) starring Benoît Magimel, who was at one point attached as the lead in this project. more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: When they are in London the apartment is almost certainly French. The style of white beveled tile is never used in British kitchens. more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Gangstars (2009) (TV) more

FAQ

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Lands successfully between crime thriller, gangster saga and character study, 26 September 2009
8/10
Author: you'llneverbe from United Kingdom

*REVIEW OF BOTH PARTS*

There is a short paragraph that opens both "Mesrine" films; the exact wording escapes me, but it says something like "no film can accurately portray the complexities of a human life". This seems to be a pre-emptive defense, as if Richet anticipates criticism for a lack of depth or some glaring omissions. After all, Jacques Mesrine is apparently still a famous name in France, and his public persona lives on. If even half his supposed exploits were true, the story would still be crying out for a definitive dramatisation. As such, Richet has wisely avoided making any real ethical judgements of Mesrine's character, focusing instead on the sex, violence and publicity that he thrived upon. But it's Vincent Cassel's committed and exuberant performance that develops this meat-and-potatoes content into an unbiased character study of excess and, over all, a very fine pair of movies.

"Mesrine" may not seem to be particularly even-handed at first because of the glamour, the wisecracks, and the endless charisma, all of which are drawn from the rich stylistic tradition of the Gangster Movie, and used very skilfully in its favour. The fast pace of the story ensures we are either seduced or repulsed by the central character, and rarely anywhere in between. Sympathy or pity is irrelevant, and he is too brutal and trigger-happy to be rooted for as a regular protagonist. The first film is the slicker of the two, and the more visually satisfying due to the wonderfully stylish recreation of early 60s Paris (and elsewhere). Cassel plays Mesrine with youthful vigour here. He's all style and brash confidence, as endearing a wiseguy as any of Scorcese's characters. It's "Goodfellas", in fact, that "Killer Instinct" is most reminiscent of, with its sharp-suited mobsters (including a brilliantly grizzled Gerard Depardieu) and episodic year-hopping narrative.

By the half-way point, Mesrine is still something of an enigma. It's only in "Public Enemy No. 1" that the pace slows down and we can see, through a few intimate and contemplative scenes, what he has sacrificed to live as a superlative criminal. "I wasn't much of a son, I'm not much of a father either." he says, while in disguise visiting his own ailing father in hospital. He gradually alienates his closest friends and accomplices by trying to maintain the outlandish public profile he cultivated, rambling pseudo-revolutionary politics to journalists and threatening to kill judges and destroy all maximum security prisons. The "Goodfellas" ensemble of the first part becomes the isolated, ego-driven "Scarface" of the second as Cassel skilfully matures his character into a man resigned to the fate he knows must be coming.

The over all impression left by "Mesrine" is that it manages to land successfully between crime thriller, gangster saga and character study. This is achieved by the virtue of a standout central performance, as well as Richet's shrewd application of an American film-making style to a very French story. It ought to go down among the top crime dramas of the decade, or at the very least raise the (already decent) international profile of its impressive leading man.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for L'ennemi public n°1 (2008)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Which is the first one and which is the second? TheUltimateMovieFreak
Delon's role? sabyelvis
The way to see these films is as a double bill clive-ihd
Gallic gunfest but with subtlety and power chris-rogers2
Pronouncing the name Mesrine Framescourer
How Can I See This Movie? sargeassault
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