Review: Public Enemies (trailer)

Written by Chris YogerstcloseAuthor: chrisyogerst Name: Chris Yogerst
Email: chris@parcbench.com
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About: Chris graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a BA in film studies and English. He is pursuing a master's degree in 'critical studies in film and television' and is the editor of the Parcbench movies section. He is also a contributor to Breitbart's Big Hollywood and Frontpagemag's Newsreal.See Authors Posts (74) on July 2, 2009

John Dillinger was one of the most infamous gangsters in our country.  Like many others, his story was romanticized while the public and press alike saw him as a hero.  After all, Dillinger was stealing from the banks that were stealing from the people.  They saw him as a depression era vigilante, doing their dirty work.

Director Michael Mann (Heat, Collateral) adapts the Dillinger story from Bryan Burrough’s book Public Enemies.  We pick up the story when Dillinger (Johnny Depp) is breaking out of an Indiana prison after being put away for an awkwardly long nine years for a more or less petty crime.  The breakout began his short lived crime spree in the Midwest that garnered national attention for about a year.

The actions of Dillinger led FBI director J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) to declare “American’s first war on crime.”  In order to fight the wave of crime, agents needed to be able to carry weapons and cross state lines (which they couldn’t do previously).  Agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) lead the charge against Dillinger, missing many opportunities to nab him.

Some aspects of the film are similar to the great gangster films of the past, but of course; Mann threw many of his own touches.  In many ways, however, this is a very unique gangster film.

While not sympathizing with Dillinger, the love story between him and Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard) was romanticized more than was usual for a gangster’s girl.  Many mobsters (and films about them) portray women as a commodity that came with the lifestyle, as seen in both versions of Scarface.  Dillinger seemed to generally care for Frechette, and Mann used that to his advantage.

Public Enemies was filmed in digital, which renders amazing clarity and brilliant night scenes (similar to Collateral).  This gives us a more vivid view of the era that we have not previously seen in a gangster picture.

Most notably, this is seen best during the shootout at the Little Bohemia Lodge in Manitowish Wisconsin.   The scene provided amazing detail in the low-key night wilderness.  The sound was also impressive and chilling as we hear bullets roar and echo through the woods, piercing trees, glass and car panels.  Here, Dillinger was able to escape while being surrounded by a group of federal agents.

Not surprisingly, all of the gunfights are intense and very well put together.   There is little confusion in all the action and the Thompson sub-machine guns sound like heavy artillery.  Mann certainly has a reputation for putting together some of the best shootout sequences ever (see Heat).

In another scene, Dillinger walks right into a police station, admiring all the mug shots of himself on the bulletin boards while most of the agents are out pursuing leads.  No one there seems to notice him, he even asks a few guys for the score of a ball game they are listening to.  Who knows if this really happened, if it did-hilarious!

Some may feel disconnect with the film because we really don’t learn a whole lot about Dillinger’s past.  We simply see the last year or so of his life when he lived day by day, never looking too far into the future.  However, that was the way these guys were, carelessly living in the fast lane.
Public Enemies marks a new kind of gangster film.  It’s hard to compare this to the classics, as it has so many unique qualities.   On some level Dillinger is humanized but not to the extent that Bonnie and Clyde were in the 1967 Arthur Penn film.  After all he is just an uneducated bank robber; there is no need to make him something he was not.

It is also tough to tell whether this is a good film or a great film.  The expectations for this film are extremely high, and it will probably take multiple viewings before one can really gauge its true quality.  Nevertheless, it is a must see for everyone!

A-