John Dillinger was a bank robber in the 1930s. Considered as a hero to many Americans, he orchestrated at least two dozen bank robberies, two police station robberies, and two prison breaks during the Great Depression. The film Public Enemies directed by Michael Mann depicts the legend and time period with Johnny Depp playing Dillinger. Christian Bale plays FBI agent Melvin Purvis, who after running down and killing Pretty Boy Floyd (played by Channing Tatum, more of a cameo than an actual role) is promoted by J. Edgar Hoover to hunt down America’s Public Enemies. Public Enemy #1 is Dillinger, and the film follows this cat and mouse type chase, with Dillinger continuing to rob banks and escape Purvis.
The acting in the film is amazing. Depp does a great job in the film which will most likely warrant him an Oscar nod come next year. I loved Marion Cottillard as Dillinger’s girlfriend Billie Frechette. You may not know who Cottillard is, but I think you will soon. She’s the French actress that won the 2008 Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in La Vie En Rose. I think she will be nominated again. In addition to the great acting was a stellar set design. The viewer is immersed into the time and period. The careful use of mise en scene is impressive. Mann never focuses on the set as many historical films do. It is just there, but cannot be missed. Mann did his research too, not only on the locations, but the story itself. At some points it feels as though the audience is watching raw footage taken at the actual time. Depp even has a strong resemblance to Dillinger and the costumes complete the verisimilitude.
The film however is scattered with no clear focus. It’s not just about Dillinger, it’s about the other public enemies, it’s about Purvis, it’s about J. Edgar Hoover, it’s about Billie, it’s about the crime systems of that time. It is repeated that Dillinger is considered a public hero, but I never saw that; it took place in the Great Depression, but I never saw any indication of economic troubles which was the reason Dillinger began to rob banks; It is revealed in the end credits that Purvis later kills himself, implying that he was tortured by his killings of the public enemies, however I feel like there wasn’t enough character development to indicate this torture. The character I felt like I knew the nest was Billie, due to a clever and well done motif utilizing the song “Bye Bye Blackbird”.
I haven’t really seen a lot of crime dramas, maybe if I had and was a fan of the genre, I would have looked pass these flaws. It is a good film, but there are parts that just seem to drag on and I didn’t really get in to the story until the third act. The ending is well done and satisfying, so are the shootout and prison break scenes. I do have to say that criminals of that day had style. Not only in clothing but in the way they operated, loyalty ruled and being a gentleman was key. American criminals today like Bernie Madoff could learn a thing or two from Dillinger and his accomplices.
I give this film ***(3) out of four stars
I saw this film yesterday, and basically agree with whatya said. Id have to give it 7.6/10 possibly rounded to an 8, but that shooting scene around the end with the chase through the forest could have been trimmed like 10 or 15 minutes.
ReplyDeleteBasically the timing of the original story and the release of the movie coincide during a period of time in which businessmen and bankers are viewed as bad guys, and that the government is helping them.
ReplyDeleteNotice that the charismatic character is the villian while the more doubting less sure character is the officer who is working for the government which is working to protect the corrupt banks.