10 Gangster Movies You Must See Before You Die
6. Mesrine
Gangster biopics are forever popular because, almost without exception, gangsters are fascinating subjects, living a life a universe away from ours. They’re not always great (see: Gotti, countless other examples), but Jean-François Richet’s 2008 two parter about French career criminal Jacques Mesrine is one of the best of the genre.
Starring the ever-compelling Vincent Cassel, the films chart the titular crook from his introduction to violence in the Algerian war circa 1959 to his eventual death at the hands of police in 1979.
Mesrine’s life took in the expected rags to riches tale, only he conducted his own story with a verve seldom seen in the typical gangster. There are schemes and setbacks, prison breaks and stand-offs, and all the while Mesrine plays the media like a violin, a notorious publicity hound who wanted the eyes of the world on him as he got away with yet another heist.
Cassel is exceptional in the rare but well deserved lead role, and he’s ably supported by Gerard Depardieu (who would have played the lead 20 years earlier), Cécile De France, and Mathieu Amalric. It has the kind of scope and ambition many rote gangster flicks are missing.