When I first heard that Michael Mann was directing a flick based on the bank robbing exploits of John Dillinger, I knew it was definitely one to watch for. I love Mann’s directing style, his incredible attention to detail and accuracy, and the overall authenticity that goes into each of his projects. Not to mention the fact that he has directed both ‘The Last of the Mohicans’ and ‘Heat’, which rank up there on my all time favorite films list. Throw in Johnny Depp as the lead character with Christian Bale playing his FBI nemesis and you’ve got all the makings of another excellent movie.
The movie starts with John Dillinger escaping from prison and making his way back to Chicago. He immediately puts to use all the knowledge he had gained from prison as he and his crew start hitting banks all over the country. His exploits gain him public fame, as the entire nation is suffering from an economic depression as a result of the corrupt banking system. He is viewed as a type of Robin Hood, however not everyone shares the positive perception of Dillinger. FBI (back then it was still just the Bureau of Investigation) Director J.Edgar Hoover views Dillinger as his ticket to get the FBI on the map. Hoover seeks to set up federal guidelines for the pursuit and punishment of criminals who commit crimes across state lines and he wants to position the Bureau as the organization in charge of all of this.
Hoover’s plans create more problems for Dillinger, as the mob fears Dillinger’s actions will bring additional attention on to them. Robbing banks is viewed as a thing of the past, as the mob is far more profitable from its underground gambling ring than it ever was from robberies. Hoover has named Dillinger ‘Public Enemy Number One’, making him the most wanted man in America. To make matters worse, Hoover has tasked unrelentingly persistent Agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) with bringing in Dillinger and his gang- dead or alive. In spite of all this, Dillinger still manages to find love along the way in the form of Billie Frechette, a former coat check girl whom Dillinger becomes instantly smitten with. A good portion of the movie manages to focus on the relationship between the two of them, which helps to convey who Dillinger was as a person and not just his public persona.
The cast as a whole is rather good. Christian Bale receives next to top billing in this film, although his character only appears in roughly one fourth of the movie. Sadly, Bale is given relatively little to do, other than pursue Dillinger. However, for a man as persistent as Melvin Purvis, Bale plays his character with a lack of intensity. His portrayal was not bad by any means, I just felt overall that his performance failed to convey the passion and determination of someone as dedicated as Purvis, which is a shame since we know Bale is capable of so much more. Billy Crudup (who played Dr. Manhattan in Watchmen earlier this year) does an excellent job of portraying FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. When you see Crudup and hear his voice, you really feel like you are watching some old news footage from the 1930s. I felt his portrayal was spot on and he really brought the FBI director to life.
Then there is Dilllinger’s love interest, Billy Frechette, played by Marion Cotillard. She does a good job in her role, although nothing too memorable. Her chemistry with Depp’s Dillinger was great and you really felt like they cared for one another. This will sound bad, but she just didn’t seem pretty enough to me. Dillinger could have had his choice of women, yet he chose her. However, she didn’t really convey anything that made her special to me.
Dillinger’s gang was even less memorable. I followed the movie pretty closely when I was watching, but at times I was hard pressed to figure out who the hell was so and so. When I watched ‘Heat’ for the first time, I distinctly remembered each fictional crew member even if I didn’t know their names. In this film, none of them really stood out even though they were based on real life semi famous people in history. The only one who stood out to me was Baby Face Nelson, portrayed excellently by Stephen Graham. He had a real psychopathic quality to him and you never knew when he would erupt and just start killing people. Other than him, the rest of the gang may as well have been portrayed by extras.
This brings us to the man himself, Johnny Depp as John Dillinger. Depp is excellent in this role, as he usually is. He does an excellent job of conveying everything about Dillinger, from his swagger to his emotions. While I originally pictured Dillinger to be a bit more flashy than Depp’s portrayal, he manages to find a solid common ground between the real man and his myth. Johnny Depp always manages to convey a sense of inner turmoil, and his portrayal of Dillinger was no different, adding depth and realism to such an iconic figure.
Overall, I thought Public Enemies was a great film, but nowhere near what I thought it’s potential would amount to. While the previews make it look like an action filled bank robbery flick, the movie is really a story about the last months in the life of a famous man whose real persona was only really known by a few select people. While the film itself took quite a few liberties with the real life events, it is very enjoyable. I highly recommend this movie, but only if you are prepared to go see a film focused on the character of John Dillinger rather than a movie about his bank robbery shoot outs.