The film doesn't just show us a criminal; it shows us the —the struggle between a "smooth operator" and a "clearly terrible person" who refuses to be redeemed. The Takeaway

Why do we still watch films about people like Mesrine? Perhaps because they represent the extreme manifestation of that "death instinct" Freud talked about. Most of us suppress our chaotic urges to maintain a stable life, but characters like Mesrine act them out in the most explosive way possible.

While it sounds dark, it helps explain why we are sometimes drawn to: that defies logic.

What drives a person to walk a path of self-destruction? Is it a choice, or something deeper—an innate "instinct" buried in the human psyche?

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