A true crime thriller

Public Enemies, Exeter Odeon, Picture House and Vue

139 Minutes, Cert 15

By Graham Taylor

For many years now, the Academy Awards have been one big farce.

The Oscars are meant to represent how the world feels about films, and award those who we feel deserve those awards. Yes, Slumdog Millionare was a great film, but most of us would rather have seen The Dark Knight win Best Picture, right?

In 1995, Michael Mann directed crime classic, Heat , possibly the biggest Oscar snub in history. It’s well paced, directed with flare and has a fantastic storyline.

The same applies for Mann’s latest crime picture, Public Enemies . Shot in Digital HD, making you feel immersed in this all guns blazing world without having to make us wear red and blue paper glasses, Enemies is just the perfect thriller. Oozing charisma without falling back on tired cliches, Mann once again proves that if you ever want to make a quiet, subtle crime caper, he’s not the man you want.

With very, very loud (but brilliant) gun fights for almost the entire two and a half hour run, Enemies’ violence never feels unneccasery and put on.

The epic real life story of John Dillinger, the 1930s bank robber, who the public and media fell in love with, is intensely depicited. You always feel that this is a tribute to Dillinger, without making him the hero, a mistake American Gangster made.

Johnny Depp plays Dillinger, and as he does with every role he plays, Depp accentuates the flaws of the criminal, who wants the government to pay for putting him in prison for nine years over a petty theft.

Along with his gang, including the much disliked Baby Face Nelson (the busiest man in the planet, Stephen Graham), Dillinger is the 1930s Robin Hood; stealing from the rich (banks) and giving it back to the poor (the depression era public.)

Christian Bale plays Melvin Purvis, the G-Man who killed Oklahoma criminal, Pretty Boy Floyd. If Dillinger is Hood, then Purvis is his Sheriff of Nottingham, both men desperate for what they want, allowing no one to step in either one’s way.

Purvis, assinged to capture Dillinger by J Edgar Roosevelt (Billy Crudup) and his recently formed FBI, is shown to be more human than many thought he was. This man was the rich, powerful killer willing to go to lenghts others wouldn’t dare to, but Mann wants Purvis to be the man who went to these lenghts for his country. It’s a controversial choice, but it’s one of many decisions that Mann has made that will split those who know this story. No one’s a hero. No one’s a villain. Everyone is morally grey, pushing those aside that step in their way.

The heart (and heat) of this period crime thriller is the romantic relationship between Dillinger and Billie Frechette (the wonderful Marion Cottilard.) Portrayed as the ultimate love story, Mann leaves this storyline for a wide arc, showing how the two lovers must brave the odds to stay together. It sounds corny and predictable, yes, but it’s all wonderfully mysterious and exciting. If you know the story, then some of the intrigue will be lost, but if not, then you’ll be glued to the screen.

Performance’s are all excellent; Bale thankfully leaving that awful John Connor growl behind, Cottilard showing how one person can become embroiled in danger in a matter of seconds with deep passion.

This is Depp’s movie though. He may look slighlty weedy to play a criminal, but Depp has that charm but brutality in his performace to make him very watchable, and more importantly believable.

The strong and danger filled script from Bryan Burrough’s non fiction tale of this story could win adapted screenplay at the Oscars, and Mann should absolutely win (or at least be nominated) for best director. This visually stunning period piece is so believable, from costumes to the public’s despair at the ongoing economic crisis.

This, however is the weakest point of Mann’s film. There is very little mention of the ongoing struggle with finances, which was in full swing in 1933. This seems strange, as this is the biggest basis of this film. People at this time are still shown to go to the movies every week, afford expensive clothes and go to the races. This just would not happen for your everyday person at this time.

Another snag in this picture is the over complex character arcs. Only Dillinger, Purvis and Frechette are recognised throughout. The supporting characters all get mixed into one, leaving you with no idea who’s who in the end.

A fleeting performance from Channing Tatum as Pretty Boy Floyd is too short, as we never realise exactly what Floyd has done, and Tatum wipes the floor with Bale in that small scene, that stays with you after the film.

All in all, this is a film to be intrigued by, rather than enjoy. The epic true life story of Dillinger is short and brutal, but it proves that a villain won’t get a hero’s ending.

Fantastic performances from Depp and Cottilard make this a believeable and inticate look at a lonely figure desperate to be embraced by those who loved him the least.