Public Enemies (2009)

Directed by: Michael Mann
Starring: Johnny Depp

**1/2

I don't know whether or not to be disappointed with this movie. On the one hand, it was very much what I expected but on the other hand, I expect so much from Mann that anything short of great will always be a disappointment.

Every review I've read has been spot on about one thing, Public Enemies has some really brilliant scenes. The problem I had with the movie was that those scenes were about all they had to offer. Not to say that everything outside of these brilliant scenes was done poorly, I'm more suggesting that there wasn't much more period. The entire movie was much more of a collection of scenes than a story or John Dillinger or Melvin Pervis or the chase between the two.

While the fire fights between the Dillinger gang and the FBI were quite the spectacle, they weren't the same entertaining firefights we've seen in Mann films such as Heat and Miami Vice. The truely great scenes were the simple ones. The one's where Dillinger entered a bank and very calmly and casually robbed it in "one minute, forty seconds... flat". The were filmed so methodically, the music hightened at precisely the right times (something many other scenes can't take credit for) and we felt like we were watching the truest professional bank robber in American history. These were the scenes that made this film so great.

American history, in my opinion, may have been an aspect of this film that caused it harm. The four primary performances in this film were those of Depp, Christian Bale, Billy Crudup and Marion Cotillard. To begin with Depp as Dillinger, I'll say that this was perhaps the most perfect casting. What better actor could one choose to play a charming, handsome, talented American celebrity than Johnny Depp. That alone is what makes his performance work so well. I don't claim to know much about Dillinger's life and personality but I got the impression that Depp didn't waste time trying to be historically accurate in his performance, but to portray a celebrity. On the flipside of this, Bale and Crudup appeared to be mimicking the characters they were playing, rather than portraying an interpretation of them. Melvin Perivs is not a significant enough character in American history to demand an accurate portrayal. Take that away from Bale's performance and he would had more freedom to explore Pervis' struggles and frustrations while chasing Dillinger. The same applies for Crudup as J. Edgar Hoover. I don't think I would have missed it, had Hoover's historically accurate voice been absent... I did miss a quality performance from an actor I like very much. Lastly, Cotillard falls more on the Depp side of things. Unfortunately, she simply plays the character off the page too much and lacks any depth and realism, perhaps no fault of her own as she is good in the film.

I hate to leave this review negatively because this film had a lot of positives. I went back and forth on it throughout and this is really due to its lack of consistency. Its amazing to see two and a half hours worth of amazingly crafted scenes but that doesn't make a good movie, it makes a good clip show more or less. Because the scenes didn't tie together to make a compelling story, the film lacked that consistency, it lacked suspense and really any emotional involvement. The performances and the quality of scenes within however, make it a worthwhile watch.

**1/2