Login
Public Enemies is an excellent slice of mature entertainment, and a welcome alternative to the silly, overblown blockbusters of the dire 2009 summer season. This predominantly factual retelling of the descent of John Dillinger is a synthesis of an irresistible triad of elements: a stylish director (Michael Mann), an incredible actor (Johnny Depp), and a great American myth (Dillinger and the golden age of bank robbers). Public Enemies has inevitably been tagged as Michael Mann's Heat in a Depression-era setting, and the similarities are numerous; from the languid cityscapes to an extended street shootout, and even the basic premise. In a modern cinematic marketplace dominated by brainless, action-saturated blockbusters, Public Enemies is brilliantly unique. It's a grand, challenging crime epic that demands multiple viewings in order to fully absorb everything it has to offer. It's also a summer movie for which you don't need to switch off your brain...and you don't want to!
The opening title card reveals that it's 1933, it's the fourth year of the Great Depression, and it's the golden age of the bank robbery. Out of the bank robbers of this period, none were as notorious as the charismatic John Dillinger (Depp), whose gang plied its trade with cunning efficiency. His lightning raids made him not only an admired folk hero to the downtrodden public, but also a target for the Bureau of Investigation. Top G-Man Melvin Purvis (Bale) is assigned to head a special unit in Chicago with the primary directive of tracking down Dillinger. It was during this period that Dillinger also became involved with a coat-check girl named Billie Frechette (Cotillard).
Once the central characters and their respective missions are established, Public Enemies becomes a string of explosive confrontations between government agents and Dillinger's gang, with the two sides engaging in a variety of shootouts. At times the narrative feels genuinely unfocused, and some aspects of the story feel either a tad abridged or foolishly excluded. But with so much packed into one movie, it's forgivable that a few story threads feel underdeveloped.
Mann is wise enough not to overglamorise the bank robbing lifestyle, though he distinctly depicts the difference between how Dillinger is perceived by law enforcement officials (as a criminal who needs to be stopped) and how he's viewed by the public (as a Robin Hood-like figure). Mann even finds time to insert a sly nod to America's fascination with the lurid - a massive crowd congregates once Dillinger is shot dead.
At the centre of the picture lies a question Mann and Depp are trying to solve - what motivated Dillinger? Public Enemies is a motion picture probing the icon of Dillinger and how we all respond to that icon, and the film therefore never get inside the rogue's head. A typical origins story is merely brushed over, with Dillinger already a fully-formed criminal at the beginning of the movie. Armchair psychology is happily eschewed as well, forgoing flashbacks in order to tightly focus on exploring a distinct period in Dillinger's life. What truly made the man tick remains the film's biggest mystery, but no-one really knew in real-life either. Public Enemies never pretends to know the truth.
Bryan Burrough (author of the non-fiction novel Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34 which inspired the movie) has stated that, although it takes a certain amount of artistic license with history, Public Enemies is to date the most factual retelling of Dillinger's story to appear on screen. The screenplay (penned by Ronan Bennett, Michael Mann, and Ann Biderman) uses Burrough's novel as its backbone, although the writers occasionally manipulate the facts to better suit the film dramatically. (For example, while the gaolbreak at the beginning in fact took place, Dillinger was locked up at the time and was not involved in it. Also, Pretty Boy Floyd was killed three months after John Dillinger but is shown being gunned down by Purvis early into the picture.) Public Enemies will receive criticisms for its inaccuracies, but this is too nitpicky - after all, Bonnie and Clyde is hailed as a masterpiece when it's a very inaccurate retelling of its story. Besides, most of Dillinger's story is unknowable (particularly the details of his death - to this day, some still assert that it wasn't Dillinger but a lookalike who was killed that night in Chicago, and there are conflicting stories as to if Dillinger actually pulled a gun before he was gunned down).
Several of the film's major set-pieces were shot in the actual locations where the same events took place some seventy-five years prior - Depp breaks out of Dillinger's actual gaol cell, fires through the same windows and runs through the same forest at Little Bohemia, and lies on the same segment of pavement in front of the Biograph Theatre. It's excellent!
Evoking his experience as an action director, Mann crafts a number of thrilling action sequences. The bank robberies are gripping and taut, while the prison break sequences are equally exciting. Most impressive, however, is the riveting Little Bohemia Lodge shootout. The killing of Dillinger (while a foregone conclusion) is also a suspenseful and moving sequence. Nitpickers complain about the high-definition digital photography, but this (along with the exquisitely-detailed sets and the effective shooting style) adds a sense of immediacy to the movie, with naturalistic lighting and colours. The soundtrack, too, is masterful - natural rather than exaggerated, with the gunshots very loud and the voices quite subdued. Elliot Goldenthal's score is evocative and touching, while the use of '30s-style music heightens the film's authenticity. Never before has a period piece been created with this level of immersion.
John Dillinger was killed after watching a screening of Manhattan Melodrama, and the definitive masterstroke of Public Enemies is milking this for its movie-ness (if you will) - parallels are drawn between the movie and Dillinger's life brilliantly.
Johnny Depp avoids theatricality in his portrayal of John Dillinger, and nails everything from the accent to the mannerisms. He's simply the best actor to play Dillinger to date. The spotlight is often stolen by Marion Cotillard whose portrayal of Billie Frechette is so beguiling that it's easy to understand why a hard-bitten man like Dillinger would be attracted to her. The scenes between the two, especially the early ones in which Dillinger is attempting to woo Frechette, are given the crackling snap of the movies of that era with sharp, fast dialogue.
Christian Bale submits a top-notch performance as lawman Melvin Purvis, the film's primary antagonist, though he ultimately isn't allowed enough screen-time to fully develop his character. Billy Crudup's supporting performance as J. Edgar Hoover is brilliant - he masters the accent. The rest of the actors mainly appear in glorified cameos, ranging from David Wenham as Dillinger's mentor to Channing Tatum in a blink-and-you'll-miss-him turn as Pretty Boy Floyd. Giovanni Ribisi fares better as robber Alvin Karpis, while Stephen Graham is an absolute scene-stealer as Baby Face Nelson.
Public Enemies is a powerful, amazing, mesmerising depiction of the final months of one of the most infamous criminals in American history. Although viewers will be left wanting to know more about the iconic bank robber, Public Enemies is clearly intended to just be a slice of the gangster's life. In the film Dillinger is depicted as a man who lives for the moment; unwilling or unable to consider the future, and with little use for the past. This is Mann's credo as well - he places us in the moment just as Dillinger chose to live his final year. Mann's latest masterwork won't work for everyone, but it remains a visually enthralling crime-thriller.
8.9/10
