Public Enemies: Review By slysnide

Better than "Heat" (1995) & "Miami Vice" (2006), Michael Mann delivers a power punching tale filled with ballistics that incorporates the best use of the Tommy Gun since Roger Corman's "Saint Valentine's Day Massacre" (1967) which follows the short criminal careers of the Public Enemies whom were all gunned down by the feds by late 1934.

In 1933, John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) escapes from prison after serving nine years out of a ten year sentence for robbing a grocery store of $50 because a local baseball game bored him. With him are his friends and mentors Harry Pierpont (David Wenham), John "Red" Hamilton (Jason Clarke), and Walter Dietrich (James Russo). Once in safety and after a quick robbery, John returns to the good life of a runaway bank robber and meets his future girlfriend Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard) at a posh restaurant, but then joins with notorious Public Enemy Lester Gillis: aka: George "Baby Face" Nelson" and Alvin "Creepy" Karpis (Giovanni Ribisi). From there, the film takes off into the robberies committed by the 'Dillinger Gang," following Dillinger and company through to Little Bohemia in Manitowish Waters to Chicago's Biograph Theater.

Johnny Depp easily became John Dillinger in the film. It seemed to come very naturally to him with a mid-western accent and decent manners. Throughout he seems to keep his cool despite being wary of being in league with the unpredictably ruthless sociopathic killer/robber 'Baby Face' Nelson. For Dillinger was regarded as the 'Robin Hood' of the 'dirty thirties' since he robbed banks that were closed after the market crash of '29, but reopened via the F.D.I.C. without fully replenishing everyone's lost money [hence why everyone likes him]. Yet you wouldn't think it the great depression at all since the areas that the first and "Second Dillinger Gang" visit are very well off considering. Also, Johnny plays off that comically careless aspect of living day to day rather than planning ahead like Billie warns him to just like he does in similar roles where he's the overconfident member of the group. As usual, Depp was a perfect choice for the role.

BI Agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) is promoted to hunting down the "Dillinger Gang" by J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) after killing Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd (Channing Tatum) in East Liverpool Ohio in October 1933 (in reality, his murder is greatly disputed, though occurred on 22 October 1934). To assist him is fellow BI agent W. Carter Baum (Rory Cochrane) who’s not as daring or inventive as Purvis, though still helpful. Christian had the strongest accent that he's probably ever had in a film. Despite being a good sharpshooter who coordinates ambushes alright, you can't help thinking of him as second banana in the movie that's got a second banana as his right hand man, even though he's the main co-star. But Rory actually seemed to do better in his role, as he's been breaking out into more mainstream television (24-2009) and films since his "Dazed & Confused" (1993) days. And so, Bale's role was just that: the second banana, especially since Dillinger's more liked by the public than he is. Nothing too impressive overall, but he was still decent nonetheless. And he's certainly not the first I'd have considered for this role.

Stephen Graham plays the notorious criminal George "Baby Face" Nelson. He truly was a sociopathic killer, and therefore was the most hated Public Enemy, as there's no respect for him whatsoever. Having hated police to the point where he'd jot down their patrol car plate numbers to track and hunt till death, he'd frequently attempt to kill them and innocent bystanders who were fleeing the scene of a robbery needlessly, much to the dismay of Dillinger whom had principals which gave him a good reputation among female hostages who'd receive Dillinger's coat & fedora after the escape to stay warm and to have a souvenir. Stephen however played this drunken freak perfectly as Nelson seems to be crazy enough to be straight from an insane asylum. For he conveyed just enough stupidity to be beyond reasonably dangerous, and probably boasts the most rounds from a Tommy Gun used in the film. Overall, he provides a very clear, and stark contrast in comparison to Dillinger as he allows you to see why Dillinger would be liked so much in American Folklore. Despite providing this, he's only a co-star who's not focused on as much as Purvis & Dillinger.

Marion Cotillard's role as Billie Frechette seemed underused overall, but being the innocent girlfriend of Public Enemy #1 would have you sheltered most of the time anyway. Once again, like Christian Bale, her performance was nothing special, nor helped speed the story along, but rather helped convey Dillinger's serious, yet happy go lucky attitude about life. And that's probably one of the only reasons why she was even in the film, since enough creative license is taken with the true story in this screenplay by Michael Mann, Ronan Bennett, and Ann Biderman that they could've easily written her out in favor of more glamorous characters.

The Monday 23 April 1934 shootout between Dillinger, Nelson, Hamilton, their associates, and Purvis, Baum, Texan Law Enforcemant Sharpshootist Charles Winstead (Stephen Lang), and two fellow sharpshooter agents with Winstead at the now infamous "Little Bohemia Lodge" at Little Star Lake in Manitowish Waters Wisconsin was the most intense, and realistic domestic shootout I've ever seen in a film. For nearly five minutes of this 12-13 minute sequence there was nothing but constant Tommy Gun fire and impacts through glass windows and into the wooden lodge. Granted some creative license was taken with the event to both further dramatize it and set it up such that Dillinger was the last member of the infamous Public Enemies to evade capture and subsequent death, the sequence made for the most exciting scene in the film. Not even the swift bank robberies could match it. The drastic change in setting from 'dirty thirties' Chicago to dense woods & pitch dark night near Rhinelander Wisconsin made for the second bit of natural greenery in the whole film, and was a nice addition. However, the immense embarrassment this incident was for the BI was excluded from the film due to the changes from reality, which disappointed me.

In the Biograph Theater sequence of 22 July 1934, I couldn't help but be on edge for what was about to happen, having known it well from history and doc*mentaries, but with actually seeing Purvis & Winstead plan it out as Dillinger and his new girlfriend Polly Hamilton (Leelee Sobieski) watch "Manhattan Melodrama" (1934) starring Clark Gable unfold on the screen was pulse pounding. And getting to see "Manhattan Melodrama" in approximately 90 seconds was also a treat; especially with that theater screen completely overtaking the one you’re viewing sometimes, making it appear as if you too are watching the same film in the same seat as Dillinger. And of course, the infamous Lady In Red, Ana "Sage" C*mpanas in her orange skirt escorting Dillinger outside the theater buried THAT legend for good...but not the metaphor. But the overall realization by Michael Mann of how it all went down was very harsh, sad, and shocking given the surroundings. It makes you feel more sympathy than ever for Dillinger, seemingly forgetting that he was the notorious Public Enemy #1, whom in the film was depicted as being the least violent of them.

The visuals of Chicago make you almost forget that this is all taking place 4-5 years into the Great Depression. For the areas of town where the banks were located were frequented by the relatively wealthy citizens of the time whom still hadn't much money to their names, but just enough to hold a bank account. The hideouts of Dillinger's gang as provided by John D'Andrea (John Ortiz) and Gilbert Catena (Domenick Lombardozzi) supply the vistas of the mid-western plains. Michael Mann even returned to the real "Little Bohemia Lodge" to film the shootout! And both the production & costume design by Nathan Crowley (The Dark Knight-2008) and Colleen Atwood (Tim Burton's #1 costume designer) respectively is magnificent, as it completely sells the look and feel of the film. For unlike Peter Jackson's "King Kong" (2005) which also took place in 1933, there are much less colors as it almost seems like a B&W flick with slight upgrades. Especially since the blood shines brightest among all the opposing grays of the film. Overall, an excellent job at nailing the visuals.

Considering all of this, then Michael Mann can add this one to his list of his better flicks, as despite taking creative license with history to center the story around Dillinger, and without providing actual dates to events, this tale seems like a short crime spree in your average city, while still maintaining the realism required to separate it from the typical 'cops & robbers' cliché that so followed films of this nature in the mid twentieth century. To add to that, it's the best quality film that takes place in that era technically speaking. And the drama, suspense, and thrilling sequences combine to make this a memorable depression era flick that’s likely to be remembered for years to come.