This film has been marketed as the Italian answer to the French ganster films Mesrine: Killer Instinct and Mesrine: Public Enemy No 1. I really enjoyed the brace of Mesrine films - Vincent Cassel had such charisma on screen in the title role he made for a compelling gangster.
So would Angels of Evil, like Mesrine based on a real person, live up to the comparison?
For a gangster film to work for me, there needs to be some depth to the baddie's characters or a least charm to win me over to their side. If I don't care whether they get caught or not - which is, in essence what most of these films boil down to - then they don't work.
Angels of Evil's lead crim is Renato, played by the almost giggle-inducingly handsome Kim Rossi Stuart. Renato was a Milanese mobster, famous in the 1970s for a spate of robberies, kidnapping and murder.
Renato is not so much drawn into but drawn to a life crime as a child, stealing and selling on the swag with a gang of friends. He doesn't see himself doing anything else.
The film follows his rise to notoriety and power battles with a rival mob. He is a charmer, audacious in his crimes and escapes, sometimes recording interviews with local radio stations while on the run. Part of the charm, and ultimately his weakness, is an intense loyalty towards his gang for whom he will take the fall when mistakes are made.
It's not quite as good as Mesrine - I think that story benefitted from being allowed to breath over two films - but still enjoyable. And I'll certainly be adding Stuart's back catalogue to my Love Film list. It gets 61% from me.
On Rotten Tomatoes we have an extremely rare meeting of minds from the critics and audience with both giving it 63%. It isn't listed on Metacritic.
Thanks. Funny you should mention Libero and The Keys to the House as I've put them on my Love Film rental list.
Posted by: Rev Stan | 06/04/2011 at 07:11 PM
Good review! The film is entertaining and well-made but it's Kim's performance that makes it so compelling and watchable -- he even had the mannerisms and the accent down pat. Check out "Libero" and especially "The Keys To The House" for some of his best work.
Posted by: caugusto16 | 06/04/2011 at 07:04 PM