MAYHEM! Review: Xavier Gens' Cinema of Cruelty Returns

Life is hard. Then you kill.

Mayhem!
The film, originally titled Farang, releases January 5 in theaters and 'everywhere you rent movies' via IFC Films.

Xavier Gens has lost none of his stylish flair for outrageous brutality and relentless bloodshed, as demonstrated in abundance in his latest action film.

Before the opening credits roll, Gens has established his lead character, Sam (Nassim Lyes), as a tough, tenacious, and taciturn gentleman who only turns to violence when he is provoked. Even then, he endeavors to demonstrate self-control.

Gens has also established an atmosphere that is fraught with tension and hostility. Sam has managed to create a bubble of peace within that atmosphere, one that he hopes will endure for him, his partner, and her young daughter. Peace can never last in a film by Xavier Gens, however, and soon the peaceful bubble has been cracked beyond repair and Sam has been provoked to violence.

From that point forward, Mayhem! earns its English-language title with one ferocious fight scene after another, superbly staged by Gens and action designer / second unit director Jude Poyer, who worked together on Gangs of London; elegantly shot by cinematographer Gilles Porte, who shot Gens' Budapest; and sharply edited by Riwanon Le Beller. The film's angry urgency covers up the minimal characterizations, which amount to: Sam is good, nearly everyone else is evil.

Motivation for certain characters is filled in, eventually, but no one comes to an action movie expecting insightful drama or demanding empathetic characters. That's probably why I haven't enjoyed Gens' past films; most notably The Divide (2011), but also Hitman (2007) and Frontier(s) (2007). And I haven't been motivated to watch his last few (The Crucifixion, 2017; Cold Skin, 2017; Budapest, 2018).

Looking back on those films, the savage brutality often appalled me, and most of the characters actively irritated and/or repelled me. Yet I couldn't deny Gens' ability to create kinetic, propulsive action sequences that gripped me from start to finish.

Xavier Gens' films are filled with an abundance of cruelty and a veritable ocean of flowing blood and cracking bones that are stunning to behold. Mayhem! is no exception.