‘America’s most wanted’

Directed by:
Michael Mann

Written by:
Ronan Bennett (screenplay)
Michael Mann (screenplay)
Ann Biderman (screenplay)
Bryan Burrough (book ‘Public Enemies: America’s Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI’)

Cast:
Johnny Depp (John Dillinger), Christian Bale (Melvin Purvis), Marion Cotillard (Billie Frechette), Jason Clarke (John ‘Red’ Hamilton), Stephen Dorff (Homer Van Meter), David Wenham (Harry ‘Pete’ Pierpont), Billy Crudup (J. Edgar Hoover), Stephen Lang (Charles Winstead), Branka Katic (Anna Sage), Stephen Graham (Baby Face Nelson)

Michael Mann’s return to the gangster / crime genre could have been a second Heat. It is, however, not. How come? Despite the stellar cast, explosive action, and dazzling art direction, the movie is unable to captivate the viewer. Much attention has been paid to recreating a piece of American history, and too little to the psychology of the characters.

Why protagonist John Dillinger (Depp) robs banks is easy to explain: he is mainly a thrill seeker, exploiting the opportunities that the era of the Great Depression offers. But what draws his girlfriend, the gorgeous Cotillard, to this dangerous lifestyle is harder to explain.

The same goes for the determination with which special agent Purvis (Bale) chases Dillinger and his fellow criminals. We never get to know these characters nearly well enough.

Mann can certainly be trusted to deliver eye-popping visuals. The thirties feel very real. And don’t we all love the sight of a good old Tommy gun? Public Enemies contains more gunfights than a Peckinpah movie, and they are all stylishly directed, although the depiction of harsh violence sometimes feels unnecessary.

Depp brings his usual roguish charm to the screen, while Bale delivers his usual passion and intensity. But we have seen them do this too often. So although Public Enemies may feel historically accurate, some freshness would have been welcome. When the final gunshot sounds, we ain’t too sorry that it’s over. How different that was with Heat.

Rating:

Quote:
JOHN DILLINGER: “I was raised on a farm in Mooresville, Indiana. My mama ran out on us when I was three, my daddy beat the hell out of me cause he didn’t know no better way to raise me.”

Trivia:
Dillinger’s quote ‘we’re here for the bank’s money, not yours’ is based on a real statement he made during the course of a bank robbery in Greencastle, Indiana. Clyde Barrow would later use a similar quote in one of his gang’s robberies, as he reportedly idolized Dillinger. In Michael Mann’s Heat, Robert de Niro’s character uses a similar quote during a robbery.