Robert Succo deals with the final
years of a real-life Italian criminal who left a trail of
murders, rapes and burglaries through France during the
1980¡¯s. Director Cedric Kahn eschews sensationalism,
presenting a cool, clinical, quasi-documentary that portrays
Succo neither as martyr nor monster. Discovered in a caf¨¦ with
no prior acting experience, the bug eyed Stefano Cassetti,
resembling a European cousin of Vincent Gallo, comes across as
childlike and naïve ¨C at times dark and attractive then
swiftly becoming adolescent and moronic - which makes his
ability to avoid the police all the more ironic and troubling.
The film makes no attempt to explain or condemn serial
killing, and focuses more on his relationship with a demanding
schoolgirl, mostly unfulfilled, who appears initially
oblivious of his crimes, unfazed by his rapid switching of
cars and wads of cash. His determination to evade the law,
including a comical car chase scene over the border of
Switzerland, where the hostage appears non-plussed by him,
recalls the similar relentless obsessive played by Charles
Berling in Kahn¡¯s previous film L¡¯Ennui, and there is a
later incident where he complains that the prison roof is not
high enough for him to successfully kill himself from.
The camerawork is beautifully understated, shot in
mainly still compositions, and even the generic policier
scenes that slowly begin to punctuate the narrative are
refreshingly unembellished ¨C no hip Tarantino dialogue here.
Essentially about a young man unable to fit into society,
Roberto Succo is a perfect antidote to the slew of
ludicrous and exploitative gangster Britflicks that continue
to clog up distribution in the UK.
From www.rlff.com
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