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Public Enemies (2009)

Director: Michael Mann

Time Out rating

Average user rating

22 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

Two of the finest actors of their time. The hunter and the hunted. A Michael Mann crime classic. But enough about ‘Heat’, what of Mann’s latest offering? This chronicle of 1930s bank robber John Dillinger and the efforts of J Edgar Hoover’s federal agents to take him out is headlined by a steelier-than-usual Johnny Depp, who convinces as the wily and ruthless thief. Mann’s film is an ambitious fresco of Depression-era America, where a string of armed robberies is grabbing the headlines and prompting a highly publicised crime-fighting operation directed more towards elimination than justice – significantly, new federal powers designed to assist the investigation also threaten the mob’s lucrative cross-country gambling activities.

It’s a fascinating moment in history, and Mann captures the cars, the guns and the buildings with painstaking, immersive authenticity. Then he has cameraman Dante Spinotti shoot it in widescreen digital video (with white-out windows it looks deliberately ‘digital’ too), so creating a ’30s crime flick with an in-the-moment immediacy quite unlike other period reconstructions. We’re right there on the running board as the getaway cars screech down the streets…

Impressive though it is, the film would be more thrilling if we had any genuine emotional connection to the characters. We end up knowing more about the social and political context for the crime spree than we do about the motivations of the key players: Depp’s Dillinger is driven by some generalised desire to escape, his moll Marion Cotillard merely sketched in, Christian Bale’s square-jawed lawman Melvin Purvis implacable in carrying out his duties. Elliot Goldenthal’s orchestral score strikes up to suggest some tragedy unfolding, but we’re just not swept up in it – and the Bush-era resonance in the human-rights questions posed by the feds’ brutal tactics isn’t sufficient compensation.

As in Mann’s ‘Miami Vice’, there’s a worrying feeling that the movie’s just skating over our feelings without really gathering much traction. It’s an event movie, of course, yet as Mann continues to lock himself into handheld DV mode, it does seem as if much of the poise and nuance has gone out of his filmmaking.

Author: Trevor Johnston 2009-06-30 11:36:58

Time Out London Issue 2028, July 2 - 8, 2009

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User reviews of this film

Trevir said...

Posted on Jul 02 2009 16:51 Saw the film earlier today. Some terrific performances and one that is not mentioned in the review is our own Stephen Graham playing Baby Face Nelson. Steals the film by far. When you look at this alongside recent menacing performances like Combo in This is England and Franner in Liverpool gangster film The Crew he has to be acknowledged as one of the UKs leading actors

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usman khawaja said...

Posted on Jul 02 2009 11:45 i do not know what the critic saw but marion just emotes like a sizzling volcano ,even her phone conversations are animated to draw emotional responses and the torture sequence is a memorably critical cascade of histrionic parade between her and bale -
and she gives this movie a real soul in the finale where the camera focuses on her haunting face .
every expression of her is priceless from the confession that she is half-breed to the acceptance of her first gift from dillinger -
she is a spontaneous natural great talent who is going to get places and dubbing her as an unemotional moll is grave injustice as is this whole review to a work of great art -
art is not to be judged by the criteria applied by timeout as to what camera was used to shoot which sequence but rather by the conglomerate affect and this is more than satisfaction as it leaves you content -
in the end to each his own but i am going to watch this again tonight

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usman khawaja said...

Posted on Jul 02 2009 00:29 Ultimately American cinema has coughed up an instant classic ending the drought for quality and quintessential stylised artistry which was a landmark for Hollywood in the 40s -60s,and it is rather surreal this exquisite endeavour is set in the post-depression america translating the story of the master criminal Dillinger ,his half breed lover BILLIE and the FBI agent on their trail across the sweeping midwest vistas which are turned into mellifluous montages of spectacular and harmoniously measured gunfights which are composed with a remarkable calm and assured style by the masterful execution of mr.Mann.
This is as much about the spectacle of gratuitous violence as it is about the execution of crime and punishment with each sequence seeped in almost esoteric beauty immersed in realistic technique which transports you into the hearts and minds of each character .
marion Coutillard must be the greatest actress in cinema today as she sets a standard of acting which will be difficult to match ,yet both Depp as dillinger and Bale as the rather stolid introverted purvis are hypnotic to watch .
This is a fecund facade of imagination and talent that you can view as many times as you wish with equal joy and emotional satiety which is a tribute to the thirties hollywood where Gable ,Powell and Myrna loy are paid homage by a great director yet in doing so with the spectacular Selznick monochrome images he redeems modern American cinema and brings time into a full circle as every grand slam in the universe enters a cycle to repeat their rendezvous with greatness .
A modern masterpiece with motion that weaves magical spells with eloquent frames that cannot be praised enough for either their expressive potential or their potent emotion .

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gunner7 said...

Posted on Jul 01 2009 21:19 I walked out of this appalling film.The acting was soleless as was the film.Mann's idea to shoot scenes on digicam makes the film look cheap.It is too dark without any reason and is one of the worst gangster films ever made.don't waste your money

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Michael said...

Posted on Jul 01 2009 20:05 I went to see this film today with great expectations would it be another Titanic or Pearl Harbour style film with loads of depth and would it pull me in?? Sadly No, it wasn't a bad film but it didn't involve the viewer and overall it felt like it dragged and it doesn't have very much action at all, The characters are well thought out and depp is excellent but the storyline should have been more interesting. I rate this film 2 out of 5. I feel the ending isn't very good a Romanian girl who was close to johnny would rather have a slight chance of not being deported than letting johnny die.

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movie newbie said...

Posted on Jul 01 2009 08:24 what the review says is very true. it's almost a 30s movie. Not much actions except for some blood, no SFX, very simple plot and story line of a police/thief story.

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Justin Berkovi said...

Posted on Jun 30 2009 16:11 I'm a huge Mann fan - I haven't seen this yet but your parting comment did ring a sore 'truth' with me. I feel that since Collateral (Which isn't that bad) Mann has lost something that he had with FILM. All his Digital pictures lack some sort of depth or as you put 'traction'. I wonder if he would revisit film and if the results would be more compelling.
As for this one I'm not a huge Depp fan and Bale has become very boring and after his ridiculous outburst on set I just cannot take him seriously. A shame then but I'll post a review once I've seen this next week.

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