A visual love letter to one of America’s most iconic eras and the colorful characters that inhabited it, Public Enemies is by far the most stylistic film released this year.
It’s the early 1930s and the country is in the throes of the depression. America’s economic woes have given rise to a new kind of figure -- the public enemies, i.e. gangsters. Full of nerve, lacking any fear, they ply their trade by robbing banks. After all.... that’s where the money is. In the process, they blaze a path of death and destruction throughout the middle of the country. With catchy names like “Pretty Boy Floyd” and “Baby Face Nelson,” these villains have charisma to spare. And, the public romanticizes them as much as it fears them. Their exploits quickly become the stuff of legend.
None was more notorious than John Dillinger. Able to rob a bank in minutes, ruthless enough to shoot down any cop in his way, yet empathetic enough to never take money from the customers, Dillinger rose to be public enemy number one.
Public Enemies is the story of John Dillinger (Johnny Depp). We don’t get to see much of his rise, as the screenplay credited to Ronan Bennett, Michael Mann and Ann Biderman, from the book by Bryan Burrough, concentrates mostly on his fall. It also spends a good deal of time on Dillinger’s relationship with Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard) -- the half French/half American Indian siren who captures his heart.
Ironically, it’s Dillinger’s notoriety that brings about his downfall. He’s so good at robbing banks and eluding capture, J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) literally makes a federal case out of it. So incensed by the exploits of Dillinger and his ilk, he vows that the FBI will bring these criminals to justice. And what better man to lead this effort than super G-Man Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale)? After all, he can gun down a man with one shot an orchard field away. And better yet, the target was none other than Pretty Boy Floyd (Channing Tatum). Purvis is so unyielding in his desire to bring down Dillinger, he’ll use anything and everything in his power to meet his goal. Purvis even employs a rudimentary form of wiretapping in his pursuit.
Friday, June 26, 2009
The look of Public Enemies is stunning. Director Michael Mann is known for being a stickler for detail and it is totally in evidence here. The production design by Nathan Crowley, Patrick Lumb and William Ladd Skinner’s art direction, and Colleen Atwood’s costumes bring Chicago circa 1934 to life. Dante Spinotti’s cinematography gives a sweeping magistracy to the proceedings. Especially breathtaking are the film’s several set pieces, including an opening prison break and the staggering shootout at Wisconsin’s Little Bohemia Lodge. (As Mann did with a number of the locations, this sequence was shot at this exact lodge where the gun battle originally took place 75 years ago.)
It’s hard to imagine another actor who could have brought the right swagger and sway to Dillinger than Depp. In his hands, it’s easy to see how this notorious killer captured the country’s imagination. He oozes style and charm, but is all business and tough as nails when he has to be. Depp especially sparkles in his scenes with Cotillard. And she is equally convincing as a woman who could turn the head of American’s most infamous gangster. Their exchanges provide some of the movie’s best lines.
The film’s major flaw is the lack of character development beyond Dillinger and Frechette. As Purvis, Bale comes off stoic and resolved in his quest. Outside of this, there’s nothing to him. Despite a two-plus hour running time, many of the other players simply get lost in the shuffle. Dillinger ends up teaming with Baby Face Nelson (Stephen Graham), but the character is so poorly introduced, it’s hard to figure out just who he is. Dillinger’s henchmen are thrown at us so fast and willy-nilly, none really makes an impact. The same can be said of Purvis’ crew. Occasionally, one of the supporting characters gets a moment to make an impact, but since we know so little about them, it lessens the effect. If feels as if Mann tried to bite off more than he could chew in fully realizing the era. But he gets so much of it right, it’s not hard to forgive him when he occasionally gets it wrong.
What Public Enemies may be lacking in development, it certainly makes up in gunplay. The body count is as high as any recent action film. But given the subject matter, it’s to be expected. So, for anyone who thinks this is a period piece or a costume drama, that can’t stand up in the action department to, say, a Transformers or Star Trek, I say don’t forget the popcorn. Public Enemies is every bit a summer crowd pleaser.
Christian Bale as Melvin Purvis
Marion Cotillard plays Billie Frechette
