PUBLIC ENEMY NO. 1

Last Thursday, after a 65 hour work week, I sat down to watch one of  this year's cinematic highlights. Entitled "Public Enemy No 1, parts 1 and 2", it tells the story of real-life gangster Jacques Mesrine (played by the excellent Vincent Cassel) and tells of his life and times, from the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s.

This is a wonderful, absorbing, uncompromising and absorbing thriller, which runs almost 4 hours and has subtitles. I was so 'out of it' with tiredness and just basic fatigue when I sat down to watch this, but the movie kept me glued to the screen for the entire running time.

It opens in the U.K in two parts. Part one on July 31st 2009, part two on August 14th. I think I will see them again when they open in the cinema here. The limited U.S release dates are for August 09. I urge you to spend your hard-earned money and time watching this future cinematic classic.

Sure, it's violent and it rambles in places and is somewhat unfocused, but it's never less than compelling.

With a supporting cast that includes Gerard Depardieu, Luduvine Sagnier and Mathieu Amalric, this is not to be missed. Please, don't let the running time put you off. This is one of the year's movie highlights, in a year which will be dominated by the usually uncreative and cynical sequels and remakes of movies that were never good in the first place, although some might slip through the net and be worth the effort of seeking out. Such as "The Taking of Pelham 123" with Denzel Washington.