{"id":515,"date":"2010-08-27T06:22:33","date_gmt":"2010-08-27T13:22:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/?p=515"},"modified":"2010-08-27T06:22:33","modified_gmt":"2010-08-27T13:22:33","slug":"daily-dose-review-mesrine-killer-instinct","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/?p=515","title":{"rendered":"Daily Dose Review: MESRINE: KILLER INSTINCT"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nWhile audiences debate whether to endorse the bank robbing fantasy TAKERS this weekend, a more gritty French film based on a true story quietly expands into art houses. That film MESRINE: KILLER INSTINCT is the first of two parts that will unspool in limited release in coming weeks. And part one lives up to its title\u2014it is a vicious, violent crime epic worthy of Scorsese-like attention.<\/p>\n

Chronicling the rise of real-life French gangster Jacques Mesrine (a very good Vincent Cassel), KILLER INSTINCT succeeds by not romanticizing the subject. Mesrine may have some basis for his initial turn to crime, but as his appetite becomes more and more vile and cracked, any redeeming value to the man is lost. Mesrine is a killer who also robs banks and carries out sloppy crimes girded by a reckless and unyielding drive. He\u2019s like a missile guided by greed, however, as INSTINCT reveals, the payoff isn\u2019t just the possible financial reward, but something psychological and warped. Mesrine\u2019s in the crime game for the thrill of it.<\/p>\n

Not a film for all tastes, director Jean-Francois Richet (of the ASSAULT OF PRECINCT 13 remake) works from a script adapted from the book written by Mesrine himself. And having not read the source material I wonder whether the memoir is as uncompromising as this epic two-part offering. INSTINCT makes us dislike Mesrine, which is, of course, one of the movie\u2019s problems. But I found the approach refreshing and entertaining in a dark way. In one scene Mesrine pushes his gun into the mouth of his wife after physically assaulting her. It is a turning point from which there is no retreat\u2014Mesrine is a bad guy, unredeemably so. <\/p>\n

Into this epic treatment we get a fine performance by Gerard Depardieu. The famous French thespian has yet to make good on claims that he will leave acting and that is a good thing. As Mesrine\u2019s violent side escalates, Depardieu plays his part as Mesrine\u2019s gangster boss skillfully allowing us to breath a little easier\u2014even Mesrine\u2019s fellow criminals are uneasy with his penchant for wickedness.<\/p>\n

But as a star vehicle for Cassel, the son of prolific French actor Jean-Pierre Cassel, KILLER INSTINCT and its sequel are perfect choices. The title role gives Vincent Cassel many opportunities to play his character in layers as Mesrine ages and goes through many states of depression and physical injury (the man is shot it seems repeatedly). Already one of France\u2019s premiere actors, Cassel is one to watch. I had a chance to interview him a few years about his excellent work in David Cronenberg\u2019s EASTERN PROMISES and he has an infecting personality that no doubt comes from years of living in the acting business with his father. And that casual confidence is affecting here as such a likeable actor inhabits a dangerous and vicious being.<\/p>\n

KILLER INSTINCT, part one of two, is the sharp slap of reality that folks taken with TAKERS might do well to seek out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This weekend’s TAKERS arthouse alternative provides a sharp slap of reality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":516,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","has-thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=515"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":518,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515\/revisions\/518"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}