Michael Mann’s Miami Vice was certainly stylish, but the horribly convoluted plot and bland characterisations made it about as appealing as Colin Farrell’s mullet. In Public Enemies, Mann makes his apology by enlisting charismatic heartthrob Johnny Depp to portray notorious American bank robber John Dillinger. Whilst Depp sure does make up for Farrell’s mullet, it’s clear that Mann has yet to renounce all his other vices. He still under-develops his characters and has a nonsensical love for digital cinematography, causing this two-and-a -half-hour game of cat and mouse to lose momentum faster than a contestant on The Biggest Loser.
Don’t be blaming the source material; John Dillinger’s bank robbing, jail breaking escapades of the 1930s has all the ingredients of a great film. Yet Michael Mann’s screenplay, which he co-wrote with Ronan Bennett and Ann Biderman, makes a conscious effort to strip Dillinger’s story of all its bravado. As a result, it’s left to Johnny Depp’s understated magnetism to remind us that we’re supposed to be having fun.
Depp’s portrayal of John Dillinger is essentially Robin Hood with a Tommy Gun; “we’re here for the bank’s money, not yours”, he nobly tells a customer emptying his wallet during a heist. But according to FBI director J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup), Dillinger is public enemy no.1. Hoover assigns his top agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) to the job of bringing Dillinger in, but he continually finds himself a step behind the clever crim. That is until Purvis discovers Dillinger’s kryptonite; his cloak checking girlfriend Evelyn “Billie” Frechette (Marion Cotillard). Dillinger makes the mistake of falling head over heels for Billie, asking her to run away from her mundane life and be his gal. Whilst she eventually concedes, Billie initially responds with “I don’t know anything about you!”
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She makes a good point. For a two and a half hour film about John Dillinger, we learn surprisingly little about him. Despite Depp’s commanding presence, the screenplay does him no favours by failing to provide any sort of back-story or any idea as to his motives. The supporting characters are just as underdeveloped. Christian Bale’s character Melvin Pervis is about as one-dimensional as Wile E. Coyote; his only goal in life appears to be catching Dillinger. Then there’s Marion Cotillard’s Billie, whom despite one terrific interrogation scene with a stand-out Christian Stolte, is treated more like a plot device than a character. It’s as though Dillinger is the centre of gravity, where everyone else exist exclusively because he does.
Even the faithfully recreated 1930’s setting is fraught by Mann’s continued obsession with digital camerawork, which takes away the cinematic flair of the era. Sure, digital might provide the film with a raw and gritty look, but Public Enemies tends to look more like an amateur home video than a hundred million dollar Hollywood production. The only time it does pay off is during the film’s genuinely tense climax, where the extra definition during the slow motion scenes has a striking hyperrealistic quality.
But for the rest of the Public Enemies, the choice of digital tends to only exacerbate the films many flaws. It even reveals the imperfections of Johnny Depp’s face. Who wants to see that?
Verdict:
For those who prefer a side of character and plot development with their muzzle flashes, don’t bother befriending Public Enemies.
-Originally published July 8th, 2009.
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