Public Enemies (2009)

America has long had an interest in anti-heroes, and Michael Mann’s latest film, Public Enemies, exploits that sentiment to the hilt. Based on a non-fiction novel by Bryan Burroughs, the movie transforms violent thug John Dillinger–once known as “Public Enemy #1”–into a Byronic hero wielding a Tommy Gun. While it’s entertaining enough, anyone with the slightest knowledge of crime and law enforcement in the 1930s will be rolling their eyes in mock amazement.

The film opens with John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) and pals engineering a prison break on behalf of some incarcerated associates. From there, the gang embarks on a crime spree with bank robbery as their specialty. This quickly draws the ire of the F.B.I. and its director, J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup), and he selects up-and-coming G-Man Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) to lead the hunt for Dillinger.

While Purvis tracks down criminals such as Pretty Boy Floyd (Channing Tatum) and Baby Face Nelson (Stephen Graham), Dillinger puts the moves on a half-French, half-Indian coat check girl named Evelyn “Billie” Frechette (Marion Cotillard). Other notable characters include Charles Winstead (Stephen Lang), a Texas Ranger assigned to the Dillinger task force; Dillinger ally Homer Van Meter (Stephen Dorff); Sheriff Lillian Holley (Lili Taylor), the head of an Indiana jail where Dillinger is held; and Polly Hamilton (Leelee Sobieski), a girlfriend unaware of the criminal’s true identity. Bullets fly, banks are robbed, and our lawman and criminal inch ever closer to a final, lethal meeting.

If I didn’t known better, I’d say that Mann had intentionally set out to make a 1930’s version of Heat (his classic crime drama from 1995). Both films share many of the same elements: a major shootout where things go horribly wrong for the robbers; an otherwise coldhearted criminal who’s willing to do anything for the love of a special woman; and a brief meeting halfway through the movie between the male leads. I’m sure there are more parallels to be found, but you get the general ideas.

Mann seems determined to shoot Public Enemies in the style of a documentary. The camera is all over the place at times – running up behind people, whipping around, and generally exuding an air of chaos and confusion. While this might be appropriate enough for the action scenes, it’s entirely out of place at other times. On a couple of occasions, Mann establishes his shot only to zoom in an inch or so seconds later. It’s an odd directorial choice and one which I found to be unnecessarily distracting. He also adheres to the dreaded “shake to simulate action” rule that I despise so much. When characters are riding in a car, does it really warrant an unsteady shot from the director? Yes, I understand that the car is in motion; I don’t need a visual cue from the director to figure this out.

Depp steps away from recent family-friendly roles such as Jack Sparrow and Willy Wonka and returns to darker acting territory. His Dillinger is loved by the public, and it’s easy to see why. Depp gives off a quite confidence in his role, usually never talking above his normal voice. It didn’t strike me until writing this sentence, but it’s unusual to see a crime movie where the lead criminal doesn’t burst into histrionics at least once. The screenplay could’ve provided a few more choice acting moments for Depp to sink his talented teeth into, but the overall portrayal is largely satisfying.

Christian Bale gets even less to work with from the script, and Melvin Purvis is essentially reduced to the role of the film’s antagonist. Sure, he’s got the law on his side, but it’s obvious who the audience is being nudged to root for. The cops torture suspects (including women) and engage in all manner of heavy-handed crime fighting methods. Purvis never performs the deeds himself, but the taint of the acts still rub off on him. Bale conveys a lot through subtle facial expressions, but his actual dialogue is straightforward and rather ho-hum.

Of course, leave it to Hollywood to romanticize one of the most ruthless criminals in U.S. history. When Dillinger isn’t wooing Frechette with his violent charm, he’s dutifully trying to save wounded friends and dreaming of one last score to retire on. There’s even a ridiculous scene later in the film where Dillinger walks right into the office assigned to catch him and strolls around. He marvels with pride at all the manpower and tax dollars assigned to bring him to justice, before finally asking the score of the baseball game and slipping quietly out the door. It’s an outlandish scene and just one of many historical inaccuracies throughout the film. For example, both Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd died after Dillinger (in this version, Floyd dies right at the beginning – shot in the back by Purvis). For that matter, half the deceased characters in the film outlived Dillinger in real life.

The first half of Public Enemies provides enough entertainment to warrant the price of a ticket, but things slow down considerably as the film nears its inevitable conclusion. Much of this drag is due to the fact that the relationship between Dillinger and Frechette never seems as passionate as it’s supposed to. Sure, they make out and make love, but something just seems to be missing. The final twenty minutes–filled with heavy-handed foreshadowing and overwrought tension–is particularly grueling. By that point, I was just praying for someone, anyone, to get shot.

And then there’s the wrap-up to the love story between Dillinger and Frechette. If you’re looking for a contrived scene, you’ll want to watch this one over and over. It’s forced beyond comprehension and totally lacking any real emotional center. It seems to exist solely to provide closure to audience members who couldn’t get a ticket to see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (or perhaps they got the ticket and simply wandered into the wrong theatre).

Despite its many flaws, Public Enemies has its moments. The film is sprinkled with shootouts, and Dillinger and his buddies can play their Tommy Guns like concert violinists (although not as well as the boys from Heat). The soundtrack and period costumes are top notch, and you’ll never doubt that you’re in 30’s Chicago. What a shame that the filmmakers had to devote so much time to an ineffectual love story in order to appeal to a wider audience. I realize that’s the nature of the business, but that won’t stop me from complaining about it.