John Dillinger was good at what he did – robbing banks – and he had fun doing it. Unfortunately for him the still new FBI was hot on his tail, as was the crime syndicates who were upset as his exploits were pushing through laws that made their illicit activities even more illegal than they already were. Still, Dillinger did what he loved to do, live fast, play hard and spoil the girl of his dreams.
Michael Mann is a great director. However, Public Enemies is more proof that he needs to give up his love of digital cinema and get back to film. This movie looked bad. You could see the video in almost every shot; it was flat, dull, and every time the camera moved too quickly you could see very flaw in the frame. It seriously looked like it was shot on a much less expensive budget, with a consumer camera. It drove me nuts.
I also have to say that while I love Michael Mann, Christian Bale, Johnny Depp and everyone involved with this film I am really not a big fan of it. Public Enemies is entertaining but not a movie you need to see twice. It almost feels as though the film had too broad a focus and therefore did not actually delve into the characters or issues the way it appeared they tried to delve into those issues. No character was fully developed and nothing was fully explained – that’s kind of an issue when you are dealing with a historical even most of the audience didn’t live through. Dillinger’s history and motivations never became clear to me, and I was confused about his life; the last time I had this unexplained feeling in a movie was watching Man On The Moon.
Director: Michael Mann
Writers: Ronan Bennett, Michael Mann & Ann Biderman
Pete: David Wenham
John Dillinger: Johnny Depp
Homer: Stephen Dorf
Melvin Purvis: Christian Bale
J Edgar Hoover: Billy Crudup
Billie: Marion Cotillard
Melvin Purvis: What keeps you up nights, Mr. Dillinger?
John Dillinger: Coffee.
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