Gang Story, A

Even a sleeping gangster is still a gangster. So when an old friend in arms owes money to the younger guys, not to mention a demanding new police commissioner, you have to pull out the guns from under your leather jacket and settle the score the French way, despite your wife's lamentations, i.e., without unnecessary bullshit, without the need for flashy gunplay, and with stone-faced protagonists who could easily substitute for nails in a coffin, which is what former police badge-wearer Olivier Marchal does best these days. (31.05.2012)

A decent French crime movie that fully meets the conditions France has set for crime movies in the past. The only thing that bothered me was the way the story was narrated, which jumps from the past to the present like a new bouncy ball. I also had a feeling that the movie didn’t have as much regard for emotion as other movies. It’s simply an incredibly raw topic and Gérard Lanvin is showing a perfect performance, but one important thing is missing. And that’s that in the 102 minutes, I should feel something for his character. So when the finale came, which was appropriately brutal for a French movie, I had this weird feeling that even though it pretends to be a classic French crime movie, it still lacks the emotions I need. (11.10.2012)

This time Marchal filmed a story from the other side of the barricades but that’s about the only significant difference from his earlier pieces. Perhaps also, the historical storyline reminds one considerably of Placido’s Crime Novel. Otherwise, it’s all as we might expect; in other words, an uncompromising, rough crime movie, loosely based on real events which stands firmly on atmosphere, male friendship and the performances of charismatic sixty-year-olds (this time, instead of Auteuil, the equally fantastic Lanvin). (02.04.2012)

Unquestionably the weakest Marchal film, who perhaps wanted to shoot a grand criminal saga in the style of successful overseas gangster films, but the script is rushed, the characters lack charisma, the story drags, and the alternating timelines definitely do not benefit the film. Moreover, the whole thing dangerously leans towards overly melodramatic moments and the film score sounds like something from an Argentine soap opera. The polarization of characters into good gangsters who strictly adhere to the criminal code of honor and love their family, and evil ones without morals who betray their fellow police officers and make deals with corrupt politicians, feels like something out of a nickel-and-dime novel. Marchal, who has valuable experience working for the police, must know very well that such romantically idealized relationships in the underworld never worked. Certain gangs truly operated based on family ties, but that had nothing to do with what is presented here. Any detective would laugh at it. Overall impression: 35%. (11.01.2013)