Rabs’ Review: Public Enemies, A Superb Crime-Drama

Public Enemies (A)

“We having too good a time today, we ain’t thinking about tomorrow.” John Dillinger  says when proposed that he should “plan ahead,” simply and bluntly explaining his way of life.  Public Enemies is of course the semi-biopic of the legendary American bank-robber of the early 1930s, John Dillinger. The film is directed by the great Michael Mann (Heat, The Insider, Collateral) and stars Johnny Depp as the conflicted anti-hero. I have to say right off the bat  this film is the best drama of 2009 and one of the best movies of the year. It is rich, engrossing, dramatic, beautiful, suspenseful, with great performances and badass action. It is quite simply, a great movie.

The film sucks you into the world that Michael Mann has created immediately, as you see John Dillinger’s master plan unfold as he calmly walks up to the front doors of an Indiana state prison. The sun is bright, but casts gloomy tones of tan and gray over the facility, signaling that shit is about to go down. A member of his gang is disguised as a police officer and with the most captivating swagger, calmness, confidence and precision, Dillinger walks through the prison’s front doors and busts out his incarcerated buddies with calculated ease. Similar prison breakouts happen several other times during the film, and as this is based on a true story, you are fascinated by both this man’s apparent arrogance, tenacity and balls, as well as the apparent weakness and lack of balls that America’s law enforcement professionals had back then.

This story is a classic American gangster tale, with a few original elements that help justify your affection for the “bad guy.” However, as I alluded to earlier, Dillinger is not a bad guy. He could be labeled that from the simple stand point that he breaks the law and inadvertently killed a few people during his bank-heists, but the man has compassion for human life. Some elements of his intentions and actions could be even compared to that of a criminal Robin Hood. That may sound like an oxymoron at first glance, but did Robin Hood not steal from the rich and give to the poor? Isn’t stealing technically a crime, even if you do it with good intentions? Well Dillinger did steal from the rich (the American government), and while he technically did not “give to the poor,” his criminal intentions were always focused on stealing back the “American dream” and NEVER stealing from or hurting innocent by-standers. “Put that money away, I’m here to steal from them, not you.” Dillinger assures a hostage as he offers Dillinger $50 or so dollars during the robbery.

Remember this takes place in 1933, during the height of The Great Depression. Millions were out of work, starving and struggling to survive and the American government was crippled to do anything about it. To have a man, take back the American dream that was lost, while doing it in a very polite and cordial manner, had the American people idolizing Dillinger. He was, in a way, their Robin Hood. This lack of cooperation and unwillingness to help apprehend Dillinger by the American people, proved to be one of his greatest assets and one of the reasons it took so long for his demise.

The performances in this film are absolutely fantastic. Johnny Depp continues to expand his untouchable portfolio of acting work, with a truly captivating performance as the legendary gangster. He brings a commanding, fierce, charismatic, yet empathetic vulnerability that makes you hope he will eventually get away with to be with the woman he loves, but at the same time, fear of what he will do to achieve that. Christian Bale plays Melvin Purvis, the FBI special agent responsible for bringing down Dillinger, after countless slips through the fingers. Bale makes up for his wooden appearance in Terminator Salvation, with a character portrayal of grit and determination. The best performance of the film was delivered by the lovable, adorable and wonderful Marion Cotillard (photo above). Cotillard plays Billie Frechette, Dillinger’s true love. She is mesmerizing to watch. Her soft French-European accent is like music to the ears and her classic beauty is a thing to see.

Considering this is a period/crime/biopic that has Mann, Depp and Bale attached to it, there will most definitely be some Oscar talk, especially now that the Academy has expanded the Best Picture category to 10 films. If there is a true contender for an acting performance, worthy of award recognition in this film, its Cotillard (which would be her second nomination after winning Best Actress in 2008 for La Vie In Rose). She brings such passion, vulnerability and toughness to a character that was swept off her feet by an wanted fugitive. There is one scene that should seal-the-deal for an Oscar nomination and that’s when she’s being interrogated (brutally), by police about Dillinger’s whereabouts. It is a painful scene, and the reason is because she makes you feel her pain.

Michael Mann’s direction could be argued to be the most unique and recognizable of any filmmaker today. In 2004, Mann directed the crime-thriller Collateral, starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx. On that film, he shot all of the exterior scenes digitally, (with the Viper Video Stream camera) so that he could achieve more depth and detail during the night scenes while shooting most of the interiors on film stock. This was used in Public Enemies, and combined with Mann’s fast-motion film style, it enhances the realistic nature of what his characters are going through and is really fascinating to watch. Along with this, as I said before, he brings a lot of beautiful gray tone color into his shots, symbolizing that the world of crime he’s brought you into, always has a moral gray-area for you to contemplate. He is also one of the best living directors at filming shoot-outs.

If you haven’t seen Heat, DO IT! It features one of the greatest shoot-outs in film history on the streets of downtown L.A. (even inspiring Christopher Nolan for The Dark Knight’s opening sequence). In Public Enemies, it’s even more intense and in-your-face. Especially during one of the climactic shoot-outs that takes place in the woods of Wisconsin at night time. The scene is almost 20 minutes long and it is chock-full of 1930s sub-machine guns and tommy guns, ripping apart a house, cars, trees and people, with only the illumnation of the gunfire providing light to see the character’s facial expressions. It’s absolutely badass.

Public Enemies is a true example of why a love movies. The film is not necessarily perfect, as I would liked to have seen more Dillinger character development and more scenes featuring Bale and Depp together, but with a finished product of this quality, I really can’t complain.

What Should You Do? If you’re seeing a movie this 4th of July weekend, see Public Enemies.