La Mentale
2002 Action / Crime / Thriller
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Credits
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Summary
Dris and Yanis are two old friends who chose crime as the way out of a life of social
deprivation. When he leaves prison after serving a four-year sentence for armed
robbery, Dris decides to start a new life with his girlfriend Lise. However, his
resolution is short-lived. Yanis puts pressure on him and in the end he has no option
but to return to his former mobster way of life. But the stakes are higher, and
the risks far greater...
Review
Despite its glossy surface presentation, La Mentale
is a rather half-hearted attempt to breathe fresh life into the traditional French gangster
film, a genre that was enormously popular in the '70s and '80s.. Although well-directed,
and with some well-choreographed action scenes, the film feels insubstantial and pretty
charmless, lacking a charismatic lead actor in the form of Alain Delon, and relying far
too heavily on senseless violence and stock clichés. Samy Naceri, the star
of the huge popular Taxi
films, is surprisingly good in this film (probably because his brother wrote
the screenplay), but his co-star, Samuel Le Bihan, looks painfully out of place and fails
to deliver a convincing performance.
© James Travers 2007 Write a review for this film... |
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