KPBS FM Film Review: "Mesrine" and Interview with Vincent Cassel By Beth Accomando Air date: August 26, 2010 HOST INTRO: America has a long tradition of gangster films but so too does France. KPBS film critic Beth Accomando speaks with Vincent Cassel (pronounced kah-sol) about playing a real life gangster in the two-part crime film "Mesrine" (pronounced mez-reen) MESRINE(ba).wav SOQ 3:53 (music out at 4:50 ) (Tag:) "Killer Instinct," the first part of "Mesrine," opens tomorrow (Friday) at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas. Part Two, "Public Enemy Number 1" is scheduled to open in September. You can find more of Beth's reviews at K-P-B-S-dot-O-R-G-slash-cinema-junkie. --------------------------------------------------- CLIP Robbery Actor Vincent Cassel has no illusions about Jacques Mesrine, the real life gangster he plays in a pair of upcoming films. VINCENT CASSEL: He was a terrible man what can I say. I can't fully defend him. But for an actor, that can be appealing. VINCENT CASSEL: I have a tendency to think that when you portray baddies in movies they come out more human than good guys. Finding the humanity in flawed and sometimes evil characters has been Cassel's specialty in films like "Brotherhood of the Wolf," "Eastern Promises," and "Irreversible." But for the character of Jacques Mesrine, Cassel had a personal connection. VINCENT CASSEL: I remember exactly when he died because I grew up in the 18th district in Paris and that's where he died… then growing up I realized a lot of my friends were wearing t-shirts with his face, his name was quoted by rappers, his name would appear as tags on the streets made by graffiti artists so he was very much a popular figure especially in the projects. Mesrine cultivated something of a Robin Hood persona even though he never gave anything back to the people. VINCENT CASSEL: It's kind of a magic trick that he managed to do so the idea was to do this magic trick with the audience meaning not to hide anything from his personality. CLIP SFX of man being beaten up That means we get to see Mesrine doing some horrible things. Sometimes his actions may seem justified like killing a pimp for disfiguring a prostitute. CLIP Bring clip back up. But other times, Mesrine can be abruptly terrifying as when he assaults his wife in front of their daughter. CLIP Fight As played by Cassel, Mesrine is a compelling character in part because we can never quite pigeonhole him. In an early burglary, he uses his wits rather than violence to escape. But later we see him foolishly trying to outrun dozens of Arizona cops on a dessert road with nowhere to run. CLIP Cops make arrest But no matter how many times Mesrine is arrested he always seems to escape and this infuriates the authorities. He's defiant and claims no prison can hold him. At one point, though, he's put in a maximum-security prison where he's repeatedly tortured. CLIP Torture VINCENT CASSEL: He's really a product of his times and that makes him somehow a political figure. Suddenly it shows like the flaws of our society. And that's what's interesting about the whole story. It's a snapshot of France in the 60s and 70s. That's interesting I think. It's a snapshot of a turbulent political time when criminals often claimed political motivation for their actions. In this respect, the French gangster film differs from its American counterpart. There's a political context against which Mesrine's story plays out. Groups like the Baader-Meinhof Gang and the Red Brigade claimed an idealistic foundation for their criminal activities. Mesrine does the same or at least pretends to. CLIP Long live free Quebec! Cassel says it's all a sham yet it effectively pushes people's buttons and allows him to assume the persona of a rebel hero. VINCENT CASSEL: Poor people really like him because he stands up, even though his political views are a like mix of everything and a posture more than real beliefs but still people looked up at him as someone who was able to defy the government and the police. Cassel succeeds in creating a complex character that rivets us for two movies. VINCENT CASSEL: At the end of the two movies what you think about the character represents you as an audience and I've noticed that some people started to kind of like him and felt guilty about it. Because he's not a likable character. So if you feel something for him at this point I don't know I think it raises a question. How can you like someone like that? The answer lies mainly in Cassel's cagey performance. He gives us a monster that we are both drawn to and repulsed by but we simply can't take our eyes off of him. For KPBS, I'm Beth Accomando.
America has a long tradition of gangster films but so too does France. I speak with Vincent Cassel about playing a real life gangster in the two-part crime film “Mesrine." “Killer Instinct,” the first part, opens tomorrow at Landmark’s Hillcrest Cinemas. Part Two, “Public Enemy No. 1” is scheduled to open in September. Listen to my interview.
Actor Vincent Cassel has no illusions about Jacques Mesrine, the real life gangster he plays in a pair of upcoming films.
VINCENT CASSEL He was a terrible man what can I say. I can’t defend him.
But for an actor, that can be appealing.
VINCENT CASSEL: I have a tendency to think that when you portray baddies in movies they come out more human than good guys.
Finding the humanity in flawed and sometimes evil characters has been Cassel’s specialty in films like “Brotherhood of the Wolf,” “Eastern Promises,” and “Irreversible.” But for the character of Jacques Mesrine, Cassel had a personal connection.
VINCENT CASSEL: I remember exactly when he died because I grew up in the 18th district in Paris which is where he died. So then growing up I realized a lot of my friends were wearing t-shirts with his face, his name was quoted by rappers, his name would appear as tags made by graffiti artists so he was very much a popular figure especially in the projects.
Mesrine cultivated something of a Robin Hood persona even though he never gave anything back to the people.
VINCENT CASSEL: It’s kind of a magic trick that he managed to do. So the idea was to again do this magic trick with the audience, meaning not to hide anything from his personality.
That means we get to see Mesrine doing some horrible things. Sometimes his actions may seem justified like killing a pimp for disfiguring a prostitute. But other times, Mesrine can be abruptly terrifying as when he assaults his wife in front of their daughter.
As played by Cassel, Mesrine is a compelling character in part because we can never quite pigeonhole him. In an early burglary, he uses his wits rather than violence to escape. But later we see him foolishly trying to outrun dozens of Arizona cops on a dessert road with no where to run.
But no matter how many times Mesrine is arrested he always seems to escape and this infuriates the authorities. He’s defiant and claims no prison can hold him. At one point, though, he’s put in a maximum-security prison where he’s repeatedly tortured.
VINCENT CASSEL: He’s really a product of his times and that makes him somehow a political figure. It shows like the flaws of our society. And that’s what’s interesting about the whole story. It’s a snapshot of France in the 60s and 70s.
It’s a snapshot of a turbulent political time when criminals often claimed political motivation for their actions. In this respect, the European gangster film differs from its American counterpart. There’s a political context against which Mesrine’s story plays out. Groups like the Baader-Meinhof Gang and the Red Brigade claimed an idealistic foundation for their criminal activities. Mesrine does the same or at least pretends to. Cassel says it’s all a sham yet it effectively pushes people’s buttons and allows him to assume the persona of a rebel hero.
VINCENT CASSEL: Poor people really like him because he stands up, even though his political views are a mix of everything and a posture more than real beliefs but still people looked up at him as someone who was able to defy the government and the police.
Cassel succeeds in creating a complex character that rivets us for two movies.
VINCENT CASSEL: I guess at the end of the two movies what you think about the character represents you as an audience and I’ve noticed that some people started to kind of like him and felt guilty about it. Because he’s not a likable character. So if you feel something for him at this point I don’t know I think it raises a question. How can you like someone like that?
The answer lies mainly in Cassel’s cagey performance. He gives us a monster that we are both drawn to and repulsed by but we simply can’t take our eyes off of him.
Companion viewing: "The Baader-Meinhof Complex," "Le Samourai," "Breathless," "The Big Risk," "The Sicilian Clan"
