Public Enemies
Director: Michael Mann
Year: 2009
Plot Summary: The Feds try to take down famous American criminal John Dillinger during a booming crime wave of the 1930s.
It all seems like a recipe for greatness. Combining the story of America's most notorious criminal, John Dillinger, with the direction of Michael Mann and the performances of Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and Marion Cotillard, Public Enemies promised to be one of the finest films of 2009. However, it is somehow a major disappointment.
Set in 1930s America during the birth of the FBI, John Dillinger is chased down by agent Melvin Purvis when the government has had enough of his killing and bank robbing.
Though Michael Mann, famous for his crime films Heat and Collateral, gives a wonderfully unique look to Public Enemies - it's filmed in a crisp, documentary style using HD and hand held cinematography in contrast to the old-fashioned, sepia toned style of other 1930s dramas - the narrative fails to find a focus on which to grab its audience. We watch one bank robbery after another and find Dillinger in one situation after another without any purpose or weight. Sure, his life is an exciting one and it makes for an all-action film, but Public Enemies gives us little reason to care.
Mann's movie also sacrifices its action over its characters. Though it aspires to have the epic sweep of something like The Godfather, featuring a huge cast of characters who span over a long period of time, we never scratch the surface of a single one of them. We never understand what drives Melvis Purvis to stay up all night and dedicate his life to capturing Dillinger nor do we comprehend the intentions of the smaller characters like Alvin Karpis who is somehow interested in Dillinger.
The performance by Johnny Depp in the central role just about keeps you watching through his episodic and meaningless action romp switching almost effortlessly from enigmatic and cold to sensitive and moral.
Nevertheless, Public Enemies could and should have been so, so much better than this. A huge let down.
2/5
1 comments:
Completely agree with your rating. The cinematography in this film is ***awful***. So ugly and uninspiring, it felt more like the making of the film. I saw it in cinema and I spent more time with my hands on my eyes than looking.
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