Movie Review: "Public Enemies"

As I've mentioned in several previous posts, I've been looking forward to seeing "Public Enemies". Ever since I saw the trailer a few months ago, I have had the feeling that it's a movie I was really going to enjoy. Between the gangster movie theme, Johnny Depp's portrayal of John Dillinger, and the direction of Michael Mann, there's no way I wasn't going to be excited about it. Would it live up to the expectations I placed on it? This is the question that could only be answered by viewing the movie, which I did Tuesday night (actually Wednesday morning) at 12:01 am. Yes, I went to see a midnight showing during the middle of a work week. I told you I really wanted to see it.

"Public Enemies" lived up to the hype...but it took a while to get there.

For those of you who don't know the slightest thing about John Dillinger, that's ok. I realize that not everyone had a grandfather who told stories about him and his escapades (I, like Dillinger, was born in Indiana; Grandpa had to tell us about him or else he wouldn't have been doing his job). For those of you that do know a lot about Dillinger, know that the plot remains pretty faithful to the real story. Obviously, it's Hollywood, so some "creative liberties" have been taken, but it's a pretty firm account of his days as a bank robber. By choosing to focus solely on this period of Dillinger's life (as opposed to making a thorough biopic), the plot is much more focused instead of wandering around through various times in Dillinger's existence. This works greatly in favor of the movie, as we get an in-depth crime drama rather than a watered-down biography.

The first half hour or so of the film, we see John Dillinger (Depp) running around various states, robbing banks and living the good life. We also see Agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) chasing various criminals and attempting to combat the rampant bank robbing going on during the Great Depression. The two stories remain rather independent of one another, however, so the first part of the movie feels a bit disjointed. Basically, I was asking myself, "where are they going with this?"

Luckily for me (and the rest of the people who see this movie), there was a method to the madness. The dual plot eventually merges into one, and, man, does it pay off. The deeper we get into Dillinger's story, the more gripping Depp's performance becomes. The farther along we get into the chase, the more intense Bale's performance becomes. They're reminiscent of two heavyweights fighting to steal each scene and provide the audience with a memorable performance. Throw in lavishly-filmed shootout sequences, authentic settings, and a smartly-paced plot, and "Public Enemies" provides a very riveting movie-going experience. Despite the sky-high expectations I had going in, I was still very satisfied with the film and found myself thinking about it during the following day at work.

In the days of seemingly numerous forgettable movies and lackluster plots, "Public Enemies" provided a nice change of pace; a dramatic story full of substance, told in equally substantial fashion.

~~ Lank