Public Enemies (2009)

Sunday 23 August 2009, 11:17 am | Comments (4)

Public EnemiesThere's something oddly unengaging about Michael Mann's Public Enemies that keeps the film from achieving greatness. Instead, it's merely good. With the director of Heat and Collateral (we'll overlook that sketchy Miami Vice remake) at the helm, it's disappointing that this tale of John Dillinger, one of history's most infamous criminals, isn't the bona fide classic it had the potential to be.

An adaptation of Bryan Burrough's Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-43, Mann's film sees Johnny Depp take on the role of Dillinger with a cool, restrained performance that truly sells the character as a real person. It's the central performance Public Enemies needed, given the script itself is rather light on character development; despite clocking in at nearly two-and-a-half hours in length, the film wells too often on plot at the expense of character.

Elsewhere, Christian Bale lends his trademark gruffness to Melvin Purvis, the FBI agent tasked with hunting down Dillinger and his gang, while Marion Cotillard is Billie Frechette, whose romance with Dillinger is sadly underdeveloped.

The real standout, though, is Billy Crudup (last seen all blue and naked as Dr Manhattan in Watchmen) who brings J. Edgar Hoover to life in a minimal amount of screen time.

Stylistically, Public Enemies is a mixed bag. The film is shot in digital which, while visually impressive, is seemingly at odds with the period setting. It's also quite a claustrophobic picture, with Mann often choosing to rely on tight shots to convey a sense of intimacy with the characters; this is at the expense of a feel for the era, which one doesn't get a sense of until some way into the film.

Thankfully, the picture does gather steam as the FBI closes in on Dillinger and his gang – Public Enemies' denouement is as strong as the rest of the film should have been.

One area that scores a direct hit is the film's sound – the Tommy Gun has never sounded as vivid and powerful as in Public Enemies. Each bullet fired is accompanied by a violent crack. If only the rest of the film were as sharp.

4 comments:

Andrew K. @ 23 August 2009 at 12:47

This is generally an accurate rundown of the film. Underwhelming [but not horrible], didn't feel like a period film, good but unremarkable from the lead men, underused Marion. I still have not gotten the urge to write this film a review.

matt @ 23 August 2009 at 17:14

I really wanted to like this film, and I can't pinpoint why it simply didn't engage me like it should have. But the points you make go some way towards explaining it.

The subject matter was ripe with such potential and the cast and crew seemed like such an ideal fit that it's disappointing the end result is just "good".

Ryan H. @ 27 August 2009 at 14:09

I can't muster enough interest to bother checking out PUBLIC ENEMIES. I can't imagine that it sits among the worst stuff I've seen this year, but I have a hard time imagining it sits among the most interesting.

matt @ 27 August 2009 at 18:54

That just about sums it up. And it's that very average-ness that makes it so frustrating.

I'm now left pinning my hopes on District 9 to be this summer's highlight.

 

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