MANN AND DEPP TEAM UP IN BIOPIC OF JOHN DILLINGER
Written: Jul 02 '09 (Updated Jul 02 '09)
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Product Rating:
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| Bang For The Buck |
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Pros: Johnny Depp's acting, Mann's direction and an excellent script
Cons: A little slow at times
The Bottom Line: Johnny Depp again proves that he is one of the best actors ever in this look at one of America's most wanted
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| mike.holmes's Full Review: Public Enemies |
I'm a big fan of Johnny Depp who I believe is one of our finest living actors. He's amazingly versatile as is obvious from the roles he has played over the years from "Edward Scissorhands", through "Donnie Brasco", "Finding Neverland", "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Sweeney Todd" to name just a few of his films
I also like Michael Mann as a director. A few of his films include "Ali", "The Insider", and "Collateral".
I was therefore happy to see the two men join forces in a movie about the legendary criminal of the Depression Era, John Dillinger. There have been at least two films about Dillinger (one in 1945 starring Lawrence Tierney and the other a television film with Mark Harmon in the lead). "Public Enemies" is by far the best film ever made about the man that many in the public viewed as a modern day "Robin Hood".
THE PLOT
"Public Enemies" takes a very brief slice of John Dillinger's life. As the film opens, Dillinger is a well known criminal who is helping some of his old crime buddies break out of prison. After he accomplishes the breakout, he and his gang are shown planning and executing one of his famed bank robberies. As depicted, Dillinger did not like it when violence erupted during the robberies although it's hard to imagine that death wouldn't occur when several people are wielding weapons.
When are shown snippets of Dillinger's life in Chicago and elsewhere when he frequently ventured out into the "open" although he was a wanted criminal. Dillinger is shown at nightclubs, racetracks and the movies even after the Bureau of Investigation's J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup-"Almost Famous", "Watchmen" listed him as "Private Enemy No. 1."
Dillinger finds "the love of his life" at a night club during one such public appearance. Her name is Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard-"La Mome") and she's a coatcheck girl at the club. After some strong wooing by Dillinger, Billie decides to run off with him.
A good portion of the film also concerns the Bureau's hunt for Dillinger and other public enemies like Pretty Boy Floyd and Baby Face Nelson. The lead man in the field for the Bureau is Melvin Purvis, here portrayed in the very straight lace manner by Christian Bale ("The Dark Knight", "The Prestige"). Purvis is very good at what he does but Dillinger keeps evading him much to Hoover's distress.
Most of the film concerns Dillinger's robberies, his brief romantic interludes with Billie and Purvis's relentless pursuit of Dillinger.
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THE FILM
I was somewhat surprised by the understated acting done by Depp in this movie. As I've reflected about it, I think that this was a good decision by both Depp and Mann. Depp does not play Dillinger as a "super-killer", evil person although he is continuously involved in shoot-outs with law enforcement. I am certainly not excusing the actions of Dillinger but as shown here, there was a human side to the man.
There has been some criticism about the "hand held" filming technique used in the movie. I'm generally not a fan of this method which was done to excess in "Cloverfield" but I was not that bothered here. In fact, I believe the hand-held cameras and the digital filming gave this movie the feeling of a documentary.
I was not overwhelmed by the performance of Marion Cotillard as Billie. However, she does do a good job of acting when she is is being forced to give information about Dillinger.
It is Johnny Depp who makes this movie a compelling examination of one brief period of one of this country's most famous or infamous criminals. At one point in the film, Dillinger's supposed "Robin Hood" traits are shown during one of the several bank robberies in the film. Dillinger turns to a customer of the bank who has a few dollars on the counter and tells the man, "Keep the money. We're after the bank's money, not yours." I don't know if this, or something simiar happened in Dillenger's days as a criminal, but I suppose in the Depression era, heroes of any stripe were looked for.
Two other factors made this film special for me. First of all, the music was tremendous. The only "modern" song is actually a song from the 30's, "Bye Bye Blackbird". Here, it is sung beautifully by Diana Krall in a nightclub scene and the song was pivotal in the final scenes of the movie as well. Throughout the film, music from the 30's is heard including at least two songs from Billie Holiday. The music was perfect for the film. Also, I was impressed by the vintage equipment in the film which ranged from autos to airplanes as well as clothes and small items such as typewriters.
The film is long-almost 2.5 hours but, for the most part, Mann (who also co-wrote the script with Ronan Bennett and Anne Biderman ("Primal Fear") keeps the film interesting. There are several "shootouts" between Dillinger and his gang vs. the Feds which show that the 2nd Amendment was alive and well during the Depression. Each side seemed to be armed with enough weapons and ammo to fight a war. There is violence but little or no sex and the language is not bad. But, I wouldn't recommend the film for children under 12.
I've thought about my rating of this film for several hours now (not continuously though). I would give it 4.5 stars but I'll round up to five because of Depp's performance.
FIVE STARS
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Action Movie
Viewing Method: Other
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Nothing
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mike.holmes
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Member: Mike Holmes
Location: Odessa, Texas
Reviews written: 1246
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TO HONOR TED KENNEDY, CONGRESS SHOULD PASS A MEANINGFUL HEALTH CARE BILL
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