If you like action films, then you won’t want to miss Public Enemies, starring Johnny Depp as John Dillinger, Christian Bale as Special Agent Melvin Purvis, and Marion Cotillard as Dillinger’s girlfriend Billie Frechette.
Although not a perfect film, Public Enemies delivers a steady stream of action and even a little romance. The special effects in the movie are outstanding, with gun battles that are incredibly realistic, especially for those that know the sound of real gunfire. Machine guns and other types of weapons are authentic for the period.
The camera work in the film makes you feel like you are watching a full-length version of COPS, with handhelds doing much of the work. The shots are shaky at times, but overall they seem to work, adding to the sense of “being there” especially as the action and the gun battles unfold.
There is surprisingly little profanity in the film and no full nudity. A brief bath by the leading lady right before Dillinger’s capture, and a short love scene is about all you will see.
The romance between Dillinger and Frechette is compelling, if not deep, because it forces Dillinger to think in longer terms than just the here and now. Cotillard play a sultry and sexy Billie Frechette, resistant to the advances of Dillinger at first, but who in the end gives in to his persistent and straightforward advances.
The story also gives us a glimpse into the life and times of John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, Alvin Karpis, and Baby Face Nelsen, and the criminals they associated with. It shows the loneliness and futility associated with the gangster lifestyle in the 1930’s. The film stays away from details of the main characters lives before they joined forces in 1933 and 1934, what would eventually turn out to be the end of the line for all of them.
Christian Bale plays the straight man in the movie, special agent Melvin Purvis, of the fledgling Bureau of Investigations. Promoted to head the Chicago field office, he makes quite a few blunders in his pursuit of nabbing Dillinger, even to the point he has to admit to J. Edgar Hoover that he and men are unqualified to do the job. Eventually bringing in back-ups from southern police agencies, the Bureau starts to take form.
The story line does stray from the facts at times as it has Purvis and Dillinger meeting face to face in a jail holding cell, something that never happened but was obviously used to enhance the drama and “good versus evil” side to the story.
Most filmgoers know how the story line turns out so there is little drama as to what will happen in the end. Still, the quality of this movie, the terrific acting, the action scenes, and the stage presence of Johnny Depp and Marion Cotillard make this movie worth seeing, maybe even twice.
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I love Depp. He’s a great actor and ofcouse super cute. I’m quite surprised he never won an oscar, even though he was great in Sweeney Todd. His best movie for me is Donny Brasco.
Regards,
Jenny