Public Enemies (2009)

Director:

Michael Mann

Writers (WGA):

Ronan Bennett (screenplay) and
Michael Mann (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 July 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Crime | Drama | History | Thriller

Tagline:

America's Most Wanted

Plot:

The Feds try to take down notorious American gangsters John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd during a booming crime wave in the 1930s.

Plot Keywords:

John Dillinger | 1930s | Bank Robber | J. Edgar Hoover | Gangster

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

James Russo	...	Walter Dietrich
David Wenham	...	Harry 'Pete' Pierpont
Christian Stolte	...	Charles Makley
Jason Clarke	...	John 'Red' Hamilton
Johnny Depp	...	John Dillinger
John Judd	...	Turnkey
Stephen Dorff	...	Homer Van Meter
Michael Vieau	...	Ed Shouse
John Kishline	...	Guard Dainard
Wesley Walker	...	Jim Leslie
John Scherp	...	Earl Adams
Elena Kenney	...	Viola Norris
William Nero Jr.	...	Farm Boy
Channing Tatum	...	Pretty Boy Floyd
Christian Bale	...	Melvin Purvis

MPAA:

Rated R for gangster violence and some language.

Runtime:

140 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #45171) | Ireland:15A | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | UK:15 | South Korea:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Singapore:NC-16 | New Zealand:R16 | Mexico:B15 | Hong Kong:IIB | Australia:MA (Violence) | Norway:15 | Finland:K-15 | Philippines:R-13 | Sweden:15 | Brazil:16 | Argentina:13 | Portugal:M/16 | Iceland:16 | Germany:12 (w) | India:A | Netherlands:16 | Taiwan:R-12 | Japan:G

Filming Locations:

Aurora, Illinois, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Channing Tatum (Pretty Boy Floyd), Billy Crudup (J. Edgar Hoover), David Wenham (Harry Pierpont) and Christian Stolte (Charles Makley) are the only actors in the film playing characters their own age. All of the other actors in the film play characters much younger than themselves. Melvin Purvis was 28 years old during the events in the film and Christian Bale was 35 during the shoot. John Dillinger was 31 at the time of his death, while Johnny Depp is 45 in the film. 35-year-old Stephen Graham is playing a 25-year-old Baby Face Nelson, Stephen Dorff, also 35, plays a 27-year-old Homer Van Meter, and Giovanni Ribisi, 34, plays 27-year-old Alvin Carpis.

Goofs:

Continuity: When John Dillinger escapes from the jail the second time and he is driving the sheriff's car he is sitting at a red light. To his right there are 3 armed military soldiers. In the following bird's eye view it shows no one standing there. Finally, when the shot returns to Dillinger the 3 soldiers are still standing there.

Quotes:

John 'Red' Hamilton: We don't work with people we don't know. And you don't work when your desperate. Walter Dietrich. Remember that?
John Dillinger: Walter forgot. When your desperate, that's when you got no choice.

Movie Connections:

Features I Haven't Got a Hat (1935)

Soundtrack:

Bye Bye Blackbird

1930's Chicago Revisited in Style

Eighty years after the events, Michael Mann takes on the Period Chicago Gangster genre, and wins, with this entertaining story. Do not be put off by some churlish carping from the critics, much of which is generated by the very high standards that Mann's films are now judged. The lengthy 140 minute running time flies by leaving the audience wondering about what could have been added to the story, not what should have been omitted.

Essentially this is the story of the life, in his heyday, and death of Gangster John Dillinger. It bounces along, leaving little room for back story or leisurely character development, like Dillinger,it lives for the moment. Johhny Depp is superb as Dillinger, Christian Bale a thoroughly convincing Melvin Purvis, his taciturn but determined G-Man nemesis.

A plot curio is that some time is given over to J Edgar Hoover's fight to establish an FBI with Purvis operating as his local enforcer.But the role is under developed, it could be dropped with no impact on the plot, making you wonder how much extra footage was left on the cutting room floor, hopefully set for an appearance on the DVD.

Marion Cotillard, a native Frenchwoman, plays the part of the leading lady, and Dillingers love interest, well enough. In a role which offers infrequent appearances, she conforms to the genre requirements of being easily bedded, hit, and cries on demand.

Critics have queried the way that the digital film is shot.There is none of the lushness of "last of the Mohicans", nor the grittiness of "Collateral", but the compelling plot leaves little time to worry about that.Review audiences also complained of poor sound quality and mumbled dialogue, not faults that I could identify with on this showing.

The "showdown" between Dillinger and Purvis happens early on, in a scene which is played straight and without lingering fanfare, it is certainly no re-run of De Niro v Pacino in "Heat".If the film lacks anything it is a sense of Tragedy, so wonderfully apparent in De Palma's "Carlitos Way". Depp and Purvis are played so ruthlessly and efficiently by Depp and Bale that pathos and emotional attachment are on pretty short display.

The period is lovingly recreated by Mann and the action sequences, unsurprisingly, never fail to disappoint, indeed when Dillinger is first shown robbing a bank his vault over the counter is seen in graceful slow motion. Diana Krall has a pleasing cameo as a nightclub torch singer performing "Bye Bye Blackbird" and the costumes are a consistent delight.

Punchy, light on its feet and offering weighty roles for Depp and Bale, this will be enjoyed by ardent fans and the curious alike.