A wounded John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) seeks solitude in Michael Mann's "Public Enemies"John Dillinger is one of America’s great anti-heroes. Here is a man who robbed banks for a living. He even went as far as to say it was his “job” - if you think of Dillinger as a self-employed man, then he’s pretty much spot-on with that remark. A criminal he was, yet he became somewhat of an icon amongst America’s poorer folk, a sort of modern-day Robin Hood. Except he didn’t give any of the cash away. He kept it for himself. Michael Mann (of Heat fame) helms Public Enemies, which depicts Dillinger’s battle with the newly established FBI. Their intent is to stop him at any cost.
We open in a prison surrounded by walls so thick you could spend your lifetime chipping away at them and get nowhere close to anywhere inside. Here, Dillinger (Johnny Depp) and his partner John “Red” Hamilton (Jason Clarke) disguise themselves as guards. They get in. They rescue some of their own men. A few people are killed. Then we’re on the road with Dillinger as plans to take as many banks as possible, FBI agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) hot on his tail.
Johnny Depp is chosen to play Dillinger. At first, this sounds like a first-rate decision. Depp, a skilled and extremely versatile actor, is capable of great performances both epic and subtle. Here, he fails. He plays Dillinger too quiet, too brooding, too distant. It’s no fun to watch. Of course, the film is part biopic, it is to base itself on facts, but from my understanding Dillinger was vibrant and vicious as much as he was icy and dry. The Dillinger we see is borderline boring. And the problem with Depp’s performance is the problem with the rest of the film itself – it’s all too cold.
There’s little drama in a movie that could have been rich with the stuff. We’re never given the opportunity to get inside Dillinger’s head. Save for a few broody shots of the man looking out of the window and thinking, there’s never a chance for us to connect with him. He’s an expensive canvas in a good suit with nothing painted on it. When it’s finally time to see Dillinger out, the experience is unemotional. We felt nothing for this man. Not hate, but no sympathy either. What did he stand for? What did he really want? These questions are never addressed.
The best performance comes from Stephen Graham, who plays Dillinger’s accomplice Baby Face Nelson – he gives his character some personally, some defiance that seems missing in everyone else. Christian Bale is rather underwhelming as Purvis. Not bad by any means, but just a tool here, an antagonist for Depp with no real face. Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard stars as Depp’s lover, Billie Frechette, lacing the performance with a nice air of tragedy, though it’s safe to say she won’t win her second Oscar for this.
What can be praised is the cinematography, but I’m not convinced by Mann’s decision to shoot in high definition. It’s an odd contrast to the 1930s setting, and proves to be only distracting. It wastes the spectacular production values in every shot, giving it the look of a television film. And your eyes might have a hard time focusing as the camera refuses to stay still. I’ll argue that this would have been better served on good old-fashioned film.
The main problem with Public Enemies is that is disappointing. It’s not a bad film, but it is not a great film either. The distance felt between the happenings on-screen and the audience makes sure of that. And the lack of dramatic energy is inexcusable – if Melvin Purvis can kill a man he never met in real life, then surely Dillinger can be gifted with an ounce of personality, true or otherwise. The real shame is this will probably always be viewed as the definitive Dillinger film. I will always view it as an opportunity wasted. Peter Travers wrote that Public Enemies is “movie dynamite.” Yes, alright. If the dynamite is never lit. (***)
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