Johnny Depp Brings Dillinger to Life in Public Enemies
Written: Jul 01 '09 (Updated Jul 01 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Depp and Bale. Interesting, entertaining story.
Cons: Jerky camera work in places. Some slower scenes.
The Bottom Line: Public Enemies is a well done, entertaining movie that fans of Johnny Depp should give a chance.
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| dragonfire88's Full Review: Public Enemies |
Johnny Depp is one of the most talented actors working now. I have enjoyed many of his movies and I'm pretty much willing to give anything he does a chance now. I've been interested in seeing Public Enemies since I first saw a trailer.
During the early 1930's, crime is running rampant, especially bank robberies. The director of the Bureau of Investigations, J. Edgar Hoover, decides to start a war on crime, labeling robbers like John Dillinger as public enemies. Agent Melvin Purvis is put in charge of the office in Chicago to lead the hunt for Dillinger. While that is happening, Dillinger continues to rob banks with his gang and he takes the time to start a romance with Billie Frechette.
Public Enemies is based on the non-fiction book Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34. I haven't read the book, though I did see it in a store a few days before seeing the movie. From reading the back cover, it seems like the book shares more about the creation of the FBI as well as the several other criminals Hoover targeted instead of mainly being focused on Dillinger like the movie was. A few other criminals, like Pretty Boy Floyd and Baby Face Nelson do turn up in the movie, but they don't receive anywhere near the attention that Dillinger does. I don't know a lot about those people, but I did do some research after seeing the movie. It seems like the movie is mostly accurate, though the timing of some events is changed a bit. I have only been able to find a few small references to Billie, so I'm not sure if the movie was accurate with things connected to her.
Only a small portion of Dillinger's life is covered in Public Enemies. He is already a known criminal when the movie begins. Some text is displayed at first that does share a tiny bit of information about the crime wave going on in the early 1930's. At that point it says that it is 1933, but it doesn't say when in the year it is. The movie doesn't give any indication of how much time passes. I only found out the exact date of some of the important events when I did a little bit of research after seeing the movie. When the movie ends, a few more lines of text provide a tiny bit of information about two characters.
Public Enemies is mostly focused on John Dillinger. Some of the robberies he committed are shown along with a small amount of some of the planning. The manhunt for Dillinger by the Bureau of Investigations - it didn't become the FBI until after the events depicted in the movie - is also dealt with during the movie. There are some slower scenes every so often which does make the pacing drag just a bit. I wasn't bored by those scenes, but other people may feel different. The movie is mostly fast paced, though not so fast that it feels rushed. This is not a happy, feel good type of movie and it probably won't appeal to some viewers. I still think it is entertaining and worth seeing.
There are several action scenes in Public Enemies, with the first one taking place within the first few minutes. Most of the action sequences involve a lot of shooting, though there are one or two short chase scenes as well. Dillinger and his gang were always armed and they didn't hesitate to use their guns. It seemed like they would plan things out fairly well in advance, though the planning really wasn't shown. One or two of the men that Dillinger worked with were more willing to shoot, and the one especially didn't care who got hurt. The agents from the Bureau that were hunting Dillinger were also very well armed with machine guns and shotguns. Most of the agents would shoot first and ask questions later. This was a time when suspects had no rights, and some of the agents had no problem with beating or torturing information about of people. One agent is very enthusiastic in beating the crap out of a woman in an attempt to get information from her. That is disturbing and a bit unpleasant to see. The movie has a lot of graphic violence, so it deserves the R rating. This is not a movie for children of any age to watch.
Public Enemies is yet another movie that suffers from shaky camera work. I know the movie was filmed in HD with hand held cameras. I really don't like things filmed with hand held camera because I hate when the image keeps bouncing around. It is irritating and many times, shaky camera work has made it harder to tell exactly what was going on. Shaky camera work turns up in several scenes in Public Enemies. It wasn't as bad as what has been done in some other movies, but it was still annoying. The shaky camera work did make it hard for me to keep track of who was who during certain scenes.
Dillinger and Billie meet one evening fairly early in Public Enemies. He is interested in her even before they actually meet and he is very determined in his pursuit of her. It doesn't take long for him to convince her. Their relationship does provide a small amount of romance to the movie without distracting from everything else that is going on. The one love scene is very mild, but it is clear that Dillinger and Billy have sex. During another scene, she shows off a lot of skin while in the bath without actually being shown nude on screen. A few of the men working with Dillinger were shown with women who were probably prostitutes. Dillinger knew a few women who were prostitutes as well. There wasn't anything graphic about any of the relationships shown in the movie.
John Dillinger was a very well known bank robber who managed to escape jail and a few close calls with the Bureau agents who were after him. He tried to plan things out carefully, but sometimes made bad decisions. He was an interesting person and Johnny Depp handled the part wonderfully, making Dillinger come to life. Billie was Dillinger's girlfriend. She seemed to be intrigued by his life when she first found out who he was and she did end up in trouble because of the relationship. Marion Cotillard is fine in the part.
Melvin Purvis is the Bureau of Investigation agent assigned to lead the hunt for Dillinger by J. Edgar Hoover. Purvis did seem to have some issues with certain things that Hoover wanted done. Purvis is in a lot of the movie, but there really isn't a lot of development for him since more time is given to Dillinger. Christian Bale did a very good job with the part. The intensity that I've noticed in some of his other roles was there without the performance seeming too much like one of his other performances. J. Edgar Hoover is only in a few scenes. He makes it clear that he is determined to stop Dillinger and the other robbers by any means necessary. Hoover seems to want to be able to do whatever he wants with the Bureau and not have any accountability. He did instruct agents to do some questionable things in the effort to the catch the robbers. Billy Crudup does really well with the part even though he is only in a few scenes.
Several men that worked with Dillinger were around, with some standing out a bit more than others. Homer Van Meter and John "Red" Hamilton were the ones shown most with Dillinger. It seemed like he was closer to them, especially Red, than the other men. Harry Pierpont was also around a lot, though he didn't stand out as much to me. Pretty Boy Floyd and Baby Face Nelson were in the movie, though not as much. Giovanni Ribisi turns up a few times as Alvin Karpis, someone that Dillinger dealt with a few times. Leelee Sobieski briefly appears in a few scenes as Polly, a woman that Dillinger was seeing. Since the character was barely in the movie, Sobieski wasn't around enough to annoy me like she has frequently done in the past. Several other Bureau agents and men that were working with Dillinger were shown without any of them really standing out that much.
Main Cast
Christian Bale - Melvin Purvis
Jason Clarke - John "Red" Hamilton
Marion Cotillard - Billie
Johnny Depp - John Dillinger
Giovanni Ribisi - Alvin Karpis
Leelee Sobieski - Polly
Channing Tatum - Pretty Boy Floyd
David Wenham - Harry Pierpont
Michael Mann - Director
Public Enemies has some shaky camera work and not enough character development, but it is still a well done, entertaining movie that deserves to be seen, though it won't appeal to everyone. Fans of Johnny Depp or Christian Bale may find something to like about the movie.
This review is part of elvisdo's 2009 Canadian Write Off. Alvin Karpis and John "Red" Hamilton, two real criminals portrayed in the movie, are from Canada. Singer Diana Krall, from British Columbia, appears briefly in the movie.
The details for this movie are wrong on the listing, but I did double check with the leads and this is the correct listing for the movie.
Johnny Depp Movie Reviews
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ~ Chocolat ~ From Hell ~ The Ninth Gate ~ Once Upon a Time in Mexico ~ Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl ~ Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ~ Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End ~ Secret Window ~ Sleepy Hollow ~ Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street ~ Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Deluxe Edition) Soundtrack ~ Tim Burton's Corpse Bride ~
Recommended:
Yes
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