“Public Enemies” proves that Michael Mann is true up there with Martin Scorsese at directing compelling crime dramas. This film, based on a book detailing the nexus of John Dillinger, J. Edgar Hoover, and Melvin Purvis, covers the last year and a half in the life of the eminent bank robber, who was branded “Public Enemy Number 1″ by Hoover, who was building what would become the FBI. Chasing Dillinger for Hoover was Purvis, who relentlessly pursued Dillinger until the fateful night outside the Biography Theater in Chicago.
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Johnny Depp plays Dillinger as a fun-loving but hazardous criminal whose only view seems to be to live life on the edge until he falls off. As usual, his performance is bewitching and utterly believable. Billy Crudup wonderfully plays Hoover as a man obsessed with growing the Bureau, obsessed with public relations, and obsessed with capturing John Dilliger, and Christian Bale plays Purvis as an vivid, superior, and caught in the difficult set of trying to pick up Dillinger while at the same time delicate a demanding, overbearing publicity seeker.
The film features huge supporting performances from Marion Cotillard as Dillinger’s girlfriend, Billie Frechette, and Stephen Lang as a extinct Bureau agent assigned to hunt Dillinger.
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This is film has plenty of action and thrills, but also possesses tremendous acting, lustrous writing, and masterful directing by Mann. Public Enemies is one the best films to reach out in the summer of ’09.
“Public Enemies”, helmed by noted director Michael Mann, is a thriller of the most testosterone fueled variety. It’s a rapidly paced actioner brimming at the seams with intense shootouts and a well-stocked cast of steely-eyed, square-jawed men harboring classic narcissistic complexes. Johnny Depp makes a suave, calculating Dillinger. It’s more of a manufactured character than an interpretation of the steady life Dillinger, but this is of slight consequence because Depp achieves huge theatrics with his changeable glare and devil-may-care attitude. He plays it great as I imagine Steve McQueen would’ve in his heyday, plowing through his world with a sort of darkly icy, apathetic demeanor that suggests he doesn’t care one device or the other about anything.
The supporting characters are superlative as well, particularly Stephen Dorff as Homer Van Meter. There’s an intensity to his character that Dorff really brings out. In fact, I didn’t even leer him at first (interestingly, he looked very similar to actor Tim DeKay) . Jason Clarke, who portrays John “Red” Hamilton, is an actor primarily known for his television work. I surmise he was chosen for his striking resemblance to the exact life criminal; fair compare his photograph to the obnoxious mug of Hamilton. He’s probably the most featured gangster, other than Dillinger, being that Hamilton is portrayed as his accurate hand man. Of course, Christian Bale turns in an able performance as respected G-Man Melvin Purvis – donning yet another one of his eminent accents for the role.
The film begins in media res with an engrossing jailbreak, something which I greatly enjoyed. I was joyful the film didn’t extinguish time trying to interpret Dillinger’s childhood and upbringing. There is no hollow attempt to apply reason to his actions or station blame for his anti-social behavior. In the raze it doesn’t matter what led him to a life of crime, particularly since over the years the man has transformed from a folk hero into a veritable tale. It’s sure Mann’s vision was ambitious. He attempted to pack all the nuances and complexities of Dillinger’s world into only two hours and because of this the kill product is a bit too busy. I bag the feeling that a bit of streamlining the script might not have been an bad plan. That aside, it’s obvious that Mann knew what audiences wanted to inspect is a rip-roarin’ pick on the robberies, shootouts, and defiance of the law that filled the bulk of Dillinger’s life just on up until the bitter raze. This film performs those functions in spades!
The major lacking feature of the film is that characterization takes a backseat to the action. This is, perhaps, inevitable considering the astronomical ensemble cast and the fact that nearly every character is based on a very sincere, very noted person. Often many seemingly intelligent characters never quite gel with the audience because their screentime is so brief. One such character is Gilbert Catena, portrayed by Domenick Lombardozzi (probably best known for his role on HBO’s The Wire) . Smooth, those aspects aside, every performance here is stellar. Honest eye at the supporting cast which includes: David Wenham, Marion Cotillard, Giovanni Ribisi, and Billy Crudup, among others. It’s my enthusiastic hope that upon its release to home video there’s an extended sever of the film because I would treasure to observe more of these characters (especially Glowing Boy Floyd, since he is only in the film for a scant couple of minutes) .
I’ve noticed many critics mention that the film unnecessarily milks the climax of the film, which is obviously Dillinger’s execution outside of the Biograph Theatre. I didn’t mind this so noteworthy because it’s such an iconic event of the Public Enemy era, and more than that, the film portrays Dillinger’s death with genuine detail and follows what we know of the precise event to the letter. The scene features numerous clips of the film Dillinger watched: Manhattan Melodrama, the gangster vehicle starring Clark Gable.
The film surmises, with fine reason, that Dillinger probably identified with Gable’s character. It illustrates this by showing one of the haunting final scenes, when William Powell offers to have his death sentence commuted, Gable replies with “You deem you’re doing me a favor by keeping my locked up in this joint for the rest of my life? I don’t want it. If I can’t live the method I want, then at least let me die the intention I want.” Dillinger’s face expressed expansive concept, perhaps even compassion, with this statement. It’s a gigantic cinematic moment, especially since the audience is very well aware of what is about to transpire in his believe life.
I give bonus points to the production crew for so aptly depicting mid-west America during the Depression. Many real-life buildings were redressed to witness as they did during the time and their efforts greatly enhance the atmosphere. Then there are the detailed setpieces (one of my favorites, though it’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it one, is Gilbert’s shop), the hairstyles and slick suits, the classic cars – they hit all the notes correctly. There’s even some worn slang film fans will remember from gangster films made in the thirties, such the calling of prison guards “screws”.
The robbery scenes, being the lynchpin of any Dillinger chronicle, are somewhat brief but accurately narrate Dillinger’s tactics and methods. Also, concerning valid history, this film does choose liberties with what really occurred (like any film does) . Perhaps the most egregious liberties are taken concerning the demises of the various gangsters. For instance, Dazzling Boy Floyd is depicted as being killed months prior to Dillinger’s death (Dillinger even references his demise to Pervis), when in fact he died months afterward. Also, Homer Van Meter survived Dillinger, only to be killed a month later. These aspects are often a principal noxious, because a filmmaker must strike a balance between reality and entertainment – and the two do not always intersect seamlessly. If you want a version that follows the facts exclusively – occupy the book.
In summation, “Public Enemies” may not be remembered as a classic action film, but it will be remembered as a classic gangster film. The most gratifying aspect is that, new for most action films, all the actors turn in very memorable performances. Some critics and the press have commented on how Bale is absent from nearly all the trailers and promotional materials for this film, but when you gawk it, the reason is quite understandable. This is unquestionably Depp’s film, and though I concede to not having a particular predilection for him, his role here is not to be missed. This is well worth the impress of admission!
Left Handed Gibson
