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Home Subscribe About Us Features News Album Reviews Movie Reviews Past Movies Movie Resources Concert Reviews Book Reviews Top 10 Contact Us	Public Enemies Stars: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Stephen Dorff, Channing Tatum, Giovanni Ribisi, Stephen Lang, Billy Crudup, Rory Cochrane, Jason Clarke, David Wenham and Stephen Graham Director: Michael Mann Scriptwriters: Michael Mann, Ronan Bennett and Ann Biderman from the book by Bryan Burroughs Composer: Elliott Goldenthal Cinematography: Dante Spinotti Universal Pictures Rating: R for gangster violence and language Running Length: 140 minutes Johnny Depp channels his Jack Sparrow persona to play one-time Public Enemy Number One, John Dillinger. As the film progresses, you see glimpses of the Sparrow facial twitch and his bantering with ladies. He even leaps over a bank counter as though it were the railing on a ship deck. It’s not all Sparrow, though, Depp brings through a man who goes for broke his entire life and pays the price, along with those who follow him. The film is adapted from the book by Bryan Burroughs and has the special pizzazz that Michael Mann brings to the screen---soundtrack (Elliot Goldenthal) and cinematography (Dante Spinotti.) Depp even resembles a photo of Dillinger. Christian Bale as Melvin Purvis, on the other hand, does not resemble Purvis at all. A photo of Purvis shows a smiling man who looks like a happy salesman. Bale, never cracks a smile, and looks like he just came in from the “Terminator Salvation” set. French Actress and Oscar winner Marion Cotillard, is cast as Dillinger’s Native American girlfriend, Billie Frechette. There are times Cotillard simply cannot be understood, so either Frechette was soft-spoken in person, or who knows what the problem is. John meets Billie at a bar and he seems to be smitten at first sight. She is the only woman there wearing a red dress. As the story begins, there is a bank robbery and it is the Dillinger gang. John has come up through the ranks and frowns on killing during a robbery. Sometimes, he is even known to give money to those less fortunate, earning him a kind glance from ordinary citizens. It is when John begins to not only elude, but hold up to ridicule, government agents, that J. Edgar Hoover (an unrecognizable Billy Crudup) forms the F. B. I. with Melvin Purvis as the Midwest agent-in-charge. Along the way of crime, we see the F.B.I. begin to catch and/or kill criminals such as Pretty Boy Floyd (Channing Tatum) and Baby Face Nelson (Stephen Graham). As the F.B.I. begins to use scientific methods (wire-tapping and recording this onto a vinyl disk) the net begins to close on major criminals such as John Dillinger. John is captured and escapes. Life is one adventure after another for him, but every runway has an end and J. Edgar and Melvin are getting impatient. There are plenty are car chases in Public Enemies, and those at night bring the audience right into the fray. The soundtrack revolves around a song that was supposed to be a favorite of Dillinger, “Bye, Bye Blackbird,” and here sung by Diana Krall, who also plays a nightclub singer in the film. The soundtrack by Elliot Goldenthal is a winner. The bad boys of crime sometimes look attractive from the outside looking in, but when you are inside, it is constantly on the lookout and constantly on the run. If you are wounded (the time period is the 1930’s), recovery is slim. Even a good meal is haphazard. Your best bet is a gun that won’t misfire and a fast car. Something criminals today still hope for. Nothing has changed in 70 years. Copyright 2009 Marie Asner I put my hope in an outlaw. In this less than mediocre summer of earlier anticipated films I was hoping that the new Michael Mann directed gangster flick would salvage what was left of the season. The poster had me hooked from day one. Johnny Depp with trench coat and tommy-gun was enough to make girls swoon and guys say heck ya. Public Enemies release on July 1 could not come soon enough. But now that it is here I still walked out missing that wow factor. Good? Better than good. Worth seeing? Absolutely. Depp deliver? As always. But I wanted wow and got decent. It’s 1930’s Chicago and John Dillinger (Depp) is Public Enemy Number 1. He is making a mockery of the justice system with his bank robbing and shenanigans. J. Edgar Hoover has had enough and brings in lawman Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) to pull out all stops and bring Dillinger to justice. Problem is Dillinger is having too much fun to get caught. His “live in the moment” attitude is destructive but gives him an air and confidence to stay a step ahead of the law. He is sort of a celebrity to many; robbing from the institutions in a time when the depression has everyone strapped. From jail breaks to courtroom trials to bank robbing to love interests, Public Enemies gives you a broad stroke of the life of this historic criminal. I love the 30’s and 40’s for movie making. The clothes and cars are the coolest. Add to that the flamboyant lives of those like Baby Face Nelson, Dillinger and others and it is grounds for perfect cinematography. Also the G-Men of those times are just as large and in charge. Many times the crooks get the attention when in fact guys like Purvis and Hoover where kicking butt and taking names just as much as anyone. Sure Hollywood loves a bad guy and Dillinger on the poster sells more tickets than Purvis would. Our tendency to glamorize these killers often seems sort of misaligned. They kill and loot and yet we see them as role models for cool. Make no mistake that in the end you see who the real tough guys are. And that to me is just as groovy. If I find any fault in this film it is that I wanted more action and thrills. Within the two and a half hours you get a fair shake of machine guns and heists but I felt they were short lived compared to the personal side of Dillinger. This doesn’t make for a bad film, but I would have been happy with more hold ups. Depp, even with that silly fake moustache, is perfect for this role. He has a dark storm behind his eyes and a winning smile that makes Dillinger’s popularity believable. Likewise, Bale brings the same focus and determination that made the batman character a bad mamma jamma to this Purvis role. This strong actor foundation saved the films slower moments for sure. Public Enemies is Rated R for gangster violence and some language. Surprisingly the language is tame for this sort of mob action. There is a certain style and sophistication to that time period and the movie reflects that in the rarity of profanity. Sure it is there but lightly sprinkled so that it enhances without overindulging. That said the violence is intense and graphic. Bullet riddled bodies are common place and the squeamish may have to avert their eyes at times. But again, the movie mainly focuses on the man hunt more than the crimes so even though the scenes are intense when they happen; it is mixed in with much non violent drama. I give Public Enemies a solid 3.75 out of 5 running boards. Though not perfect it is a well done film and one that delivers where it needs to. Maybe not as much as I had wanted but enough to make it a welcome relief to the drivel we have been subjected to the last couple of months. So says Matt Mungle Matt Mungle (6/30/09) Review copyright 2009 Mungleshow Productions. Used by Permission.