In the midst of the Great Depression, a gang of thieves and outlaws led by John Dillinger tore around the Midwest in a year-long spree of bank robberies and jail-breaks. After months of near apprehensions, the Federal Bureau of Investigation dedicated almost a third of its budget to catching the crafty criminals. At the tip of this spear was J. Edgar Hoover's hand-picked special agent- Melvin Purvis.
Michael Mann has revolutionized the criminal drama in the last 15 years. Films like Collateral, Heat, and Miami Vice attained a certain level of grittiness and believability that somehow made implausible plots seem perfectly conceivable. However, Public Enemies is a bit of a divergence from that success. Five minutes into the film, you'll be sick and have to excuse yourself from the theater as Mann has become so reliant on handheld "shaky-cameras" that you'll swear you're watching another entry in the Blair Witch series.
Like most movies involving outlaws and gunfights, Public Enemies is a tale of two extremes. On the one hand is Christian Bale as a Chicago lawman, and on the other is the incomparable Johnny Depp as an infamous murderer and criminal. Sounds perfect, right? Well, not quite"¦ at some point people became convinced that a Welshman with a heavy accent (Bale) could successfully portray a fast-talking American agent from the 1930s "“ in reality, Christian Bale is completely underwhelming in his role. Granted, he has the look down, but any time he tries talking with even the slightest hint of volume, his accent manages to completely break the illusion. Thankfully, he spends little time on screen; Dillinger is the real focus of this film, not his captor.
Depp carries the film (as he so often seems to do) with his convincing portrayal and calculated mannerisms. You know that he's a killer, but he manages to be so cool that you're willing to look past that. Without question, Depp delivers another amazing performance- it was his supporting actors that ultimately left him high and dry. Marion Cotillard, who plays Dillinger's girlfriend Billie Freschette, was a puzzling casting decision. Even though the real Freschette was of French and Native American background, she was born and raised in the United States. Unfortunately, Mann seemed determined to cast a French actress in the role, leaving viewers to sort through a heavy accent for over two hours; bon appétit.
Overall, I can only say that Public Enemies was mediocre. A strong performance by Depp helps to overcome the other weak casting choices of Bale and Cotillard. At times, the film manages to be legitimately funny thanks to Dillinger's over-the-top behavior; these bits and pieces of humor serve as a nice break from the rather depressing plot of murder and thievery. In the end, it was the film's climax that ultimately convinced me that the Mann had taken a directorial misstep with this movie. Two hours of shaky-cam footage is suddenly punctuated by blatant CG and sweeping close-ups. I went into the theatre legitimately wanting to like this film, which makes it that much more depressing when I walked out feeling like I had once again been duped into mediocrity by a good marketing campaign.
