Starring: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Billy Crudup, Marion Cotillard, Stephen Graham, Giovanni Ribisi, Bill Camp and Branka Katic
Directed by: Michael Mann
Rated R for gangster violence and some language
Genre: Crime Drama
By John Delia
Bringing a crime legend to the screen takes a good deal of research, good casting and impeccable direction and that all came together for Public Enemies. Director Michael Man not only captures the essence of John Dillinger in his movie, but that of Baby Face Nelson as well. Public Enemies is probably Mann’s best, no in my opinion, it is his best film to date.
In the early thirties when America was still rattling from the Depression, gangsters were on the rise. Just when FBI agent Melvin Purvis took down Pretty Boy Floyd, John Dillenger’s number was elevated to the top of the wanted list. It was an era of crime and a chance for J. Edger Hoover to make his play as the greatest G-Man of all time. At odds with the U.S. Senate over appropriations for the FBI, Hoover had something to prove. Putting Purvis in charge of the Chicago Bureau, Hoover planned to use him to make headlines by capturing Public Enemy Number 1, Dillinger and prove his worth to the government. What occurs during Hoover’s crime offensive coupled with the actions of one of the most famous bank robber of all time, becomes a chronicle in the history of America.
Mann tackles the events leading up to Dillinger’s final days with near accuracy giving the gangster a personality missing in previous attempts by other production companies. Was Dillinger this carring man who became a bank robbing folk hero who only took from the rich or someone that was cold and calculating on a journey down the path of destruction? I found that the film depicted two sides. Showing Dillinger’s soft side in his relationship with Billie Frechette (Cotillard) with dreams of going straight and then shooting it out with the law from a cabin in the woods with no mercy for the law makes a case for both.
There was good acting and then there was standout performances in Public Enemies. Billy Crudup made an excellent J. Edgar Hoover, the devious attention getter who took all the credit for Pervis’s dangerous work. I also liked Cotillard in the role of Billie, Dillinger’s timid lover who turns into a tough moll. Then there is Stephen Graham as the maniacal Baby Face Nelson who loved to show off his automatic weapon by shooting into everything and everyone around him. Graham brings life (and death) to Nelson as he rampages in nearly every scene in which he appears.
But the standout performances come from Branka Katic as Anna Sage the infamous lady in red who points out Dillinger during his final moments. She depicts the emotional roller coaster Anna goes through before she gives up her loyalty to Dillinger so she won’t get deported. But I would be remiss in not pointing out the great job by Johnny Depp who makes Dillinger a real person with a personality. Someone who may have been this nice guy gone bad.
The film is not without flaws, although few, they are distracting. Taking some movie magic license, Dillinger is shown walking into the FBI Chicago bureau while agents are huddled around a radio listening to a baseball game. Um, Sure! The film runs about two and a half hours, but I still would have liked to see more of the robberies and the relationship between Dillinger and Billie. I also don’t think Billie was fleshed out enough and especially since she goes from innocent to moll in what seemed a short period of time.
Now don’t think I am getting offbeat here, but the sound guy should get an award. The popping of guns were very realistic, the breaking of glass from the bullets are cringing and the dialogue still understandable, an amazing feet of sound during the shoot out at the cabin in the woods.
Well there you have it. The film will make it to classic and get nominated for many awards. Public Enemies is rated R for gangster violence and language most of which is very realistic and sometimes brutal so young teens make sure your parents are not frightened by all the shooting when you get them to take you along.
FINAL ANALYSIS: Public Enemies is a realistic look at some dastardly criminal times. (4 of 5 Palm Trees)