Roberto Succo

Stefano Cassetti, who was living in France, red on a newspaper that a director was looking for a beginner, Italian mother tongue but fluent french speaking, to shoot a movie as leading actor; then he decided to go to the casting. He was "obviously" signed on. I suggest that all of you should stare at his almost unbelievable without-expression look. A real perfection! In my opinion the movie shows the natural capabilities of a young actor who proves to be completely at his ease in the complex role of a multi-identity psycho killer who's capable to commit unexplainable crimes but also to act as a nice and sensitive guy. Noteworthy also the dialogs.

Wow. I am still struggling to reconcile this film; a man so amoral, so interesting, unstable, cute and unpredictable. The film is a masterpiece of storytelling and a lesson in how to use subtlety to frame extreme and horrific violence. Let me give you an example. At one point, Roberto/Kurt is cutting his nails and is told by Lea that she wants to end their affair. In that moment his hand slips and he cuts his foot badly. The audience jumped and sucked in air more at that point than at any other in the film; the splash of blood was so unexpected and surprising that it made me gasp.

The director, writer and actors seem to be trying to tell a story without sensationalising or sympathising, there are no moralising "I think we have all learnt something today kids" sections. Roberto Succo is not analysed and explained, the audience is told a story and left to draw their own conclusions. It feels so good to be regarded as an intelligent individual with a degree of perception and a mind of my own.

Two things stuck me after the film. Firstly, that Succo was like a child with tantrums and utter lack of regard for consequence, easily angered and distracted. Capable of charm and unbelievable cunning, his danger came in his lack of restraint when it came to violence.

The other thing that I realised an hour or so after watching the film was that nothing is made up. Every scene features someone who can corroborate the situation, there are no scenes with Roberto on his own, or with a victim that died without a witness. From this I surmise that a conscious decision was made not to fictionalise sections of his existence that had no witness to verify the event. Yet, this is done effortlessly and without being forced. By the end of the film you know as much as anyone else alive about Succo, and no extraneous conjecture, constructed to aid the narrative. This is astounding in its audacity and spectacular in its execution.

The car chases are some of the most stomach wrenching I have ever seen; forget Bullett, Ronin (high speed through Paris...unbelievable driving) and Blues Brothers, this is some of the most tense high speed driving I have seen on film. You have to pity the Police, maybe they were slightly inept, but only because there was no motive for so much of the crime, how often do you come across a criminal so ruthless, pointless and deadly?

Any gripes then? Well, perhaps the film could have been a bit bolder with its camera moves, but then perhaps that would have detracted from the style. I didn't like the soundtrack; I thought the whole film could have done without any music apart from that in clubs and bars. But that is just because I think the film didn't need the punctuation of Marianne Faithful's (OK, very moving) voice.

I understand the outcry in France at this film, and you could take away the impression that the police were at fault. However, the Italian cops came over like fools, and the Germans made such monumental errors that Succo was obviously that thing a police force fear most; insanely dangerous - dangerously insane, but with such a honed fight or flee instinct he was like nothing they could have prepared for. Sad man, pathetic situation, tragic victims; what a film.

For a film about a killer this is surprisingly dull.

Nothing much happens and even when things do happen they don't generate any real excitement or interest.

The acting is good from the two leads, Cassetti in particular delivers a great performance combining the certainty and stupidity of Succo but the rest of the cast also do what they need to.

The problem is that there is poor writing and direction and the fact that as a true story it isn't interesting, Succo is not a unique character, he isn't interesting or exciting.

Films of this sort normally try to generate tension or empathy or outrage and this generates nothing except a feeling of regret that you wasted your time watching it.

This is French movie about a real-life Italian killer, Roberto Succo (Stefano Cassetti), who escaped a mental institution and went on a crime/murder spree all over Europe. He was somewhat similar to American killers Gary Gilmore (the subject of "The Executioner's Song")and Charles Starkweather (who loosely inspired "Badlands"). However, he was more a more prolific killer than the former, but didn't cause nearly as much panic as the latter--it actually took the police some time to piece together the various random crimes he was committing, which didn't immediately escalate to murder. The film "Roberto Succo" though probably MOST resembles the two later French "Mesrine" films (with Vincent Cassel), and like those, it seems to hew pretty closely to the real-life inspiration. Unfortunately, Succo was not nearly as interesting of a criminal as Jacques Mesrine, and Stefano Cassetti is not nearly as compelling of actor as the great Vincent Cassel.

During his crimes Succo stopped to rather tenderly romance a naive, 16-year-old French virgin named "Lea" (Isild Le Besco). But she was neither really an unwitting accomplice in his crimes like the real-life Carol Fugate (Starkweather's teenage paramour) or a sexy "moll" along the lines of the real-life Nichole Baker (played by Roseanne Arquette in "The Executioner's Song") or the character played by Ludivine Sagnier in the "Mesrine" movies. The unconventionally beautiful French actress Isild LeBesco does two things really well--one is act and the other is get naked, and she doesn't get nearly enough chance to do either here. Ludivine Sagnier has less screen time technically in the "Mesrine" movies than LeBesco does in this, but she is quite a bit more effective.

The film basically follows Succo as he commits his incredibly random crimes, and since Cassetti isn't the most exciting of actors, the film largely lacks a center and becomes quite boring. The police pursuit when it finally happens is almost an afterthought and the prison scenes at the end, while necessary to tell the full story, only prolong an already rather dull movie. It could have been improved with a stronger central performance, or if LeBesco had had a bigger role or had the kind of screen presence she would eventually develop in her later films (she is STILL by far the best reason to see this). Much of it though you have to blame on the filmmakers who perhaps stick TOO MUCH to the real-life inspiration at the expense of of making a very dramatically compelling movie.

Cedric Kahn's films have been character-based, rather than action-based (I'm thinking of L'Ennui and Feux rouges) so it is jarring to see this series of really expert car chases interspersed with some plodding attempts to give character to Succo. I don't find Stefano Cassetti to be an interesting actor; he reminds me of pro athletes who are coaxed into movies, like Bret Favre. That blank stare looks like a really vicious deer caught in the headlights. A real actor would have forced us to reflect more on Succo's personality, rather than admiring his skill at carjacking.

The little acting there is comes mainly from Isild le Besco as the needy schoolgirl Succo takes by storm. The interview at the police office is a marvel of bland obstinacy with a little fear of the future blended in. Le Besco apart, there is little to recommend this film.