Movie of the Week: Public Enemies

The anticipation of seeing “Public Enemies” was almost overwhelming. The idea of my big-screen favorite Johnny Depp playing John Dillinger, the real-life “Gentleman Bandit” bank robber of the Great Depression, was an exciting conceit, for I adore crime thrillers; and while Johnny’s collaborations with director Tim Burton are my particular favorites, having “Heat” director Michael Mann at the helm of “Public Enemies” boded well.

Plus, the trailers and television ads make the film look exciting, sexy, and action-packed, so it had everything going for it. Until it started.

Sadly, “Public Enemies” doesn’t live up to the hype. Overlong, strangely emotionless, and only mildly compelling, it is a good movie that should have been great. Some elements are excellent, including the look of the film, as it evokes the 1930’s Midwest evocatively via clothes, cars, and those ubiquitous fedoras that all men once wore, as well as Mann’s careful attempt to stay close to the real historical facts of Dillinger’s rise to being one of the FBI’s first criminals to be called “Public Enemy Number 1.”

Johnny Depp and Marion Cotillard in "Public Enemies."

Others fall far short, including the interactions between Depp and Marion Cotillard, the 2008 Academy Award-winning French actress of “La Vie en Rose.” As Dillinger’s supposed soulmate Billie Frechette, Cotillard ought to cause sparks every time the duo hit the screen. Instead, there isn’t an iota of chemistry between the two, and we never really understand what made Dillinger willing to risk all to be with her. “Bonnie and Clyde” this is not.

Johnny Depp and Marion Cotillard get cozy in "Public Enemies."

And Depp as Dillinger is strangely distant. This is a man that captured the imaginations of working-class Americans, by sheer force of personality, in a pre-television era when heroes were made via newspaper accounts and word of mouth. But Depp’s take on him is low-key, almost enervated, with little charisma sparking out during the two-hours-plus biopic.

Christian Bale is another disappointing element of the tale, playing relentless FBI agent Melvin Purvis with a single facial expression throughout. His taut-jawed take on the most famous G-Man of the era is downright boring, and he gets way too much screen time as he crisscrosses the Plains trying to bring the legendary bank robber to ground.

Christian Bale as Melvin Purvis in Michael Mann's film "Public Enemies."

Don’t get me wrong, however. “Public Enemies” is not a bad movie. It’s just not the transcendent experience that its resume led us to expect. Mann delivers a couple of exciting action sequences, and Billy Crudup gives an unexpectedly interesting performance as J. Edgar Hoover, but overall you’ll come away from the film with an empty feeling, and no real understanding of the man nor the era that created him.

Rated: R
Stars: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Stephen Dorff, Billy Crudup, Channing Tatum, Rory Cochrane, Giovanni Ribisi
Director: Michael Mann

Studio/Official Site: http://www.publicenemies.net/