L’Instinct de Mort (Formerly Mesrine) or Public Enemy Number One (Part 1) to us English speaking folks, is a film inspired by the true story of Jacques Mesrine, an egocentric French gangster and total dickhead who you can’t help liking anyway because he’s so damn confident, charismatic and fun to watch. The film covers roughly a decade in Mesrine’s life starting from the late 1950s, during which we get to see him rob banks, shoot people, bang whores, hit his gorgeous wife, escape from prison, and do other gangster-ey things.

The film moves at a quick pace but despite its frequent time warps and loaded plot it’s not too difficult to follow. Some of the most thrilling scenes occur when Jacques meets Jeanne, a reckless, temper-driven, smokin’ hot French woman who becomes his partner in crime. The pair are absolute dynamite to watch on screen.

Although the overall subject matter is hardly light, the dark and witty humor scattered throughout L’Instinct de Mort makes the film a breezy two hours. And the audience absolutely ate it up, laughing, hooting and gasping in pleasure at the cleverness of it all. A fantastic film to see in a crowded theater as I felt I was discovering and experiencing it with my fellow moviegoers rather then simply watching it. LG