Not a French film in the strictest sense of the term, but a brilliant
showcase for some of France's
most prominent actors. This Canadian-British produced, mixed-language
(French/English) film is an engaging piece of black comedy, full of cultural
in-jokes and beautifully sharp references to the crime movie genre. Mirman’s
script is centred around a complicated intrigue involving the Chicago Mafia
(its chief representative Harvey Keitel’s Frankie Zammeti), the FBI and a gang
of semi-competent French criminals led by Daniel Foray (Gérard Depardieu). From
the French standpoint the ensemble is stellar, including alongside Depardieu
the singers Johnny Hallyday (whose burly hitman Marcel is a bigger, cooler
brother to his Milan of the year before) and Renaud as well as the actor,
writer, director and former champion boxer Saïd Taghmaoui. Despite the violent
episodes scattered throughout the film, Crime Spree has a definite charm
of its own, thanks to the strong currents of character humour, wordplay and
physical comedy that underpin the script. French popular culture buffs will get
the references other viewers might miss.
If you like this film, you might enjoy: Riders (Pires,
2002), Vidocq (Pitof, 2001), Buffet Froid (Blier, 1979)