Vincent Cassel along with Audrey Tautou, two of the best actors alive, have talked of their desire to only act in french films. As long as they keep making films as cool as their most recent ones (Mesrine, and Coco Avant Chanel) then more power to them. I mean, this movie is one of the best gangster movies ever made. The only reason I say this is because of Vincent Cassel. Gangster movies rely heavily on the humanism of the gangster being depicted. Denzel made American Gangster a good movie. Vincent makes Mesrine a great movie. So often gangster movies glamourize the life of crime. Cassel, as is often true of this genre, evokes sympathy. But it is a different kind of sympathy. Usually it is a sympathy that comes with rationalization. This time, you are just like, "Man, that would kind of suck." As much of a badass Mesrine might have been, Cassel makes you truly realize that killing people just sucks, make no bones about it. It is never cool to beat your wife while your child watches. You hate him so freaking much but ultimately you just want him to call it quits and move to the Philippines and start a non-profit. But, he doesn't and makes you really believe why he can't. Sure, John Dillinger allowed customers in banks to keep their money and fought the 'system', but Mesrine/Cassel is a ruthless son-of-a-bitch chasing notoriety and ultimately, worth within the facade of post-war masculinity.
This movies is as much about father-son relationships as it is anything else. Had Mesrine's father been more of a 'man' then maybe Mesrine would have been able to listen. But having been forced to experience the inexcusable, cowardice of the fraternal army life Mesrine was well beyond his father's simplistic family values of pre-world war westernization. As I have alluded to before, getting a nine to fiver was not in his five year plan.
When I read Wittgenstein, Marx, McIntyre, Dennett, Dawkins, the 'brights', and many other thinkers, I am often left wanting. The phrase I have used to lessen their attempts to say 'something' (which I admit, saying this may be just because I don't feel like spending the hours it requires to understand what they are saying) is this; "they obviously never spent time in a dug-out." What I mean by this is that they would never be able to carry on a conversation with the guys I grew up playing baseball with. One might ask, "What does it matter that the guys you played baseball with think Daniell Dennett is a poofter?" It matters because my friends from baseball are more authentic and more a true representation of humanity than most philosophers have ever experienced. Ludwig Wittgenstein grew up with billions of dollars from his father's businesses at his disposal. His brothers and sisters were all first class musicians that commissioned the greatest artists and composers of pre-world war Austria. This means they paid people like Wagner $25,000 to write pieces for them to perform. Their father encouraged all of this as composers came to their castle to share their new creations. I played third base in my high school glory days. The guy's father that played shortstop next to me for my whole life was known for getting super wasted and challenging people to races out in the street outside the bar (no joke, this guy's Dad was about sixty pounds over weight and he beat everyone on our baseball team in a race multiple times; it was really incredible). My point is this, if you can't speak to my friend that played shortstop and was useless on Saturday games because he was still trippin' on acid, then I don't think you have that much to say that is worthwhile.
Mesrine addresses issues that are timeless and are appropriate for a college psychology, economics, philosophy, religion, and english class as well as my friend the shortstop. This is why Mesrine is a 'must see' film. Ultimately though, you should see this if you want to see the performance of the year by Cassel.
