Mesrine: Part 1: Killer Instinct (2008)

aka Mesrine: L'instinct de mort / Public Enemy Number One (Part One) / Mesrine: Part 1 - Death Instinct

The first part of a two-part biopic of the real-life French gangster Jacques Mesrine, played by Vincent Cassel in both films. The basic structure will be familiar to fans of gangster films, but the presentation is unusual, employing a number of different shooting styles and some clever use of split-screen effects, all in a very French manner. I was forced to concede that even techniques I dislike had a definite power to them.
Equally powerful is Cassel in the lead role. He's clever, sharp and utterly fearless. He's also charming when he wants to be, but a monster when pushed too far. The film begins in 1979, but jumps back to chart Mesrine's activities in the years 1959 to 1972. It's only part of the story, however, so make sure you have access to Part 2: Public Enemy Number 1 before you even begin.

4 off-the-books jobs out of 5

36 (2004)

Aka: 36 Quai des Orfèvres

Two of France’s finest male actors go head to head in this gritty, violent police thriller. Forget Gérard Depardieu’s shitty English language films, this is what he’s really capable of. Daniel Auteuil delivers, as usual, an equally gripping performance. Both men are detectives but in different departments; one follows the law when it suits him, the other makes his own law. They each want to solve the same case but for different reasons.
It’s stylistically similar at times to a Michael Mann film, but unlike Mann's overblown efforts this one isn't boring.

4 semi-autobiographical dramas out of 5

La tête en friche [My Afternoons with Margueritte] (2010)

Gérard Depardieu dons a fat suit in thi—wait a minute, nope. No. That’s all him. Here he plays an illiterate man who meets an old woman in the park whom he develops a special friendship with... She reads to him every day while he listens. I was expecting Harold & Maude, but instead got Forrest Gump. It's a gentle, soft-spoken story that is moving at times, but feels much too uneven to thoroughly recommend.

2 pigeon poops out of 5