'Public Enemies' fails to finish the job

Public Enemies
Certification: PG
Cast: Johnny Depp, Christian
Bale, Marion Cotillard, Jason
Clarke, Billy Crudup, Stephen
Graham, Stephen Dorff,
David Wenham, Stephen Lang
Director: Michael Mann
Genre: Drama, Action

DURING the Great Depression era from the 1920s to the 1930s, a few bandits with their anti-authoritarian escapades thrilled the American public and became anti-heroes as they were mythologised by the media.

Terrorising the police forces were names like Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Bonnie and Clyde. And this new Michael Mann film tells the story of one of the top crooks during that era, John Dillinger.

Played by the ever charismatic Johnny Depp, John Dillinger is the leader of a group of bank robbers whose lightning speed in his raids makes him "Public Enemy No 1".

The movie opens up with Dillinger and John "Red" Hamilton (Jason Clarke) breaking some of his contemporaries out of prison, including Baby Face Nelson (Stephen Graham), Homer Van Meter (Stephen Dorff) and Harry "Pete" Pierpont.

J Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) recognises the daunting task of catching these bandits who exceeds the jurisdiction of the local police, so he sets up the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and brings in Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale), a folk hero in his own right to the demoralised public, to head the investigation.

But Dillinger and his gang always outgun Purvis's men; and Purvis realises that if he doesn't bring in some real gunfighters, his men will continue to be slaughtered like sheep. He goes on to recruit some tough ex-lawmen, led by Charles Winstead (Stephen Lang), who are able play the game at Dillinger's level on the playing field.

Inch by inch, Purvis gets closer and closer to finally catching up with Dillinger; but not before capturing Dillinger's nightclub coat-check girl, Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard), and using her as bait.

With a film directed by Michael Mann that stars Johnny Depp as a smooth bank robber and Christian Bale as the law enforcer, there is a strong appeal here right from the start. Unfortunately the film never really lives up those potential.

Much is to be blamed on the screenplay by Mann and his co-writers, Ronan Bennett and Ann Biderman. There's a lot going on in the movie but there's not enough of each.

There are enough bank robberies and enough prison breaks but the scenes fly by too quickly without much detail of what has happened. Some characters are introduced and then they disappear, only to come back an hour later with a few lines and then disappear again.

The love story between Dillinger and Frechette is unconvincing and the chemistry between Depp and Cotillard suffered as a result. A big part of Dillinger's actions in the second half of the movie derives from his love for Frechette, but the audience will find it hard to relate because there is never any romance involved. All that transpires is Dillinger seeing Frechette and falls madly in love with her, that's it.

And the story development for the entire movie is also weak. There is almost never a flow in the story and its characters.

Things happen sometimes very randomly, as if Mann is really struggling to keep time, even with 140 minutes, so he has to skip a few developing scenes.

Having said that, however, Mann did well in directing; particularly with the action sequences that are big and explosive but never out of reality. Working once again with cinematographer Dante Spinotti, the feel of the 1930s is ever dominant and ever real.

Depp once again delivers, though it feels like the script restricted his performance somewhat as he looks like he could have done much more. The only breakout performance is by Lang as the ruthless and hard lawman determined to shoot down Dillinger. He doesn't have a lot of scenes but he stands out in every single one of them.

Cotillard fresh off her Oscar win does nothing here to show why she's a winner. And this is the third movie in a row for Bale to under-deliver with the stoic and robotic Purvis.

But the thing that lacked the most in a movie that tells the story of larger-than-life characters is the story of the characters and why they matter. Public Enemies should have been much more than this.

Reviewer's Rating: 6 / 10

The Brunei Times