Set in the steamy fin-de-siècle (18th) French Quarter of New Orleans, Halle Berry plays the love interest, with Paul Giamatti as Napoleon, McConaughey or Harrelson as Andrew Jackson, and Giovanni Ribisi as James Bowie. Act I: a heist movie with several daring escapades set against the pre-war tumult. Lafitte plays all sides against the middle but as the French influence fades he seems set to align with the British. Meanwhile, his heart is captured by Ellen Page, the virtuous wife of the dastardly British commander (Javier Bardem, of course). Ignoring wiser counsel, he starts a dangerous, inescapable, (fabricated) affair.

Act II: The commander suspects all and has his wife cruelly murdered. Lafitte swears revenge and jumps in Han Solo-style on the US side. (Scarred by this, he will descend into a louche promiscuity until his heart is later recaptured by the worldy Rigaud). A stirring speech before the assembled Union of Brigands precedes a pitched battle: the noble US forces are backed against the wall when -- wait, what's this? An armada of derring-doing guerrillas depants the British Navy. Act III: Betrayed by Andrew Jackson, he retreats to Galveston, where his love affair with the mixed-race Mme. Regaud intensifies in parallel with his Scarface-like descent into the slave trade. He's ultimately driven from Galveston to wind out his days in his own private Elba, and the audience is left to ponder the morally ambiguous balance. Entrepreneur? Opportunist? War Hero? Pirate? Lover? Slaver? Yes.