I really wanted to love this film.
I wanted
Public Enemies to be the highlight of my summer movie-going experience. I wanted to sit there, in the dark, clutching my popcorn bag, poised on the edge of my seat, mesmerized by the performances of Johnny Depp and Christian Bale mixed in with all the vintage cars, clothes and settings of the Midwest, circa 1933.
I really wanted to love this film.
Well, I didn't love it. I LIKED it, and Depp has added another character notch to his belt as the legendary John Dillinger, the charismatic bank robber whose lightning raids made him the number one target of J. Edgar Hoover’s fledgling FBI and its top agent, Melvin Purvis (Bale), and a folk hero to much of the downtrodden public.
Depp plays Dillinger as a modern-day Robin Hood--No one could stop him or his gang, no jail could hold him, while his charm and audacious jailbreaks endeared him to almost everyone—from his girlfriend Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard) to an American public who had no sympathy for the banks that had plunged the country into the Depression.
But while the adventures of Dillinger’s gang—later including the sociopathic Baby Face Nelson (Stephen Graham) and Alvin Karpis (Giovanni Ribisi)—thrilled many, Hoover (Billy Crudup) hit on the idea of exploiting the outlaw’s capture as a way to elevate his Bureau of Investigation into the national police force that became the FBI. He made Dillinger America’s first Public Enemy Number One.
However, Dillinger and his gang outwitted and outgunned the FBI in wild chases and shootouts. Only after importing a crew of Western ex-lawmen (newly baptized as agents) and orchestrating epic betrayals—from the infamous “Lady in Red’’ to the Chicago crime boss Frank Nitti—were Purvis, the FBI and their new crew of gunfighters able to close in on Dillinger.
Like a lot of things in this life,
Public Enemies looks terrific at night and less so in broad daylight. Director Michael Mann and cinematographer Dante Spinotti shot on high-definition digital video favoring hand-held, close-quarters compositions. The visual quality is striking, notably in a 15-minute sequence -- the best in the film; the one that makes it worth seeing -- pitting Dillinger and his cohorts against the feds in a northern Wisconsin lodge known as Little Bohemia. The inky darkness, the staggering explosions of light every time someone lets loose with a round from a Tommy gun -- none of it would look the same on celluloid. Mann's direction is excellent; the script, hit and miss.
Depp, sporting a scar and a mustache, finds his character and portrays Dillinger as a glib, winking smart-aleck, such as when he strong-arms a bank officer into opening a safe.
"We're gonna play a game, Mr. President. It's call Spin the Dial."
Bale, on furlough from his Batman duties, makes Purvis a man willing to pull the trigger but learning on the job. He and his team blunder several attempts to nab and hold "Public Enemy No. 1."
Oscar winner Marion Cotillard plays the hat-check girl Dillinger fell for, a woman who questions him but still is drawn to him after learning what he does.
But it's Depp's unavoidably attractive impersonation of Dillinger that carries the show, as one would expect. It is a bit curious, though, after letting loose in the
Pirates of the Caribbean pictures and other films, Depp reverts to a more withdrawn, self-regarding posture, portraying Dillinger as a man who, having discovered his role in life, determined to play it according to a script of his own devising.
The film's production qualities are exceptional across the board, and extensive location work in Illinois and Wisconsin pays off in physical authenticity. Elliot Goldenthal's haunting score combines with period music to create an effectively eclectic soundtrack.
So, I liked it. I wanted to LOVE it, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be.
Public EnemiesRated: R
Running Time; 140 minutes
Pete Misiak is an award-winning news anchor and reporter at WJR-AM 760 and is also a member of WXYZ.com's Web Team. A former Big Band singer with Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians, Pete earned membership into Actors' Equity Association in 1982 and has appeared in over 60 productions as an actor and performer.
