Film File - Public Enemies

In the Great Depression of the 1930s, John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) was the anti-hero beloved by the poor and despised by the forces of law and order. A charismatic bank robber whose lightning raids made him the target of J Edgar Hoover"s (Billy Crudup) emerging Federal Bureau of Investigations and its top agent, Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale), Dillinger became a folk hero to much of the downtrodden public who had seen their jobs, lives and savings disintegrate through the mismanagement of the government during the Crash. It was a world with some similarities to today. So audacious were his robberies, no-one could stop him and no jail could hold him. The more he robbed the banks, the more the public, and his girlfriend Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard), applauded him. But while Dillinger"s exploits endeared him to the downtrodden masses - and the tabloid press who emblazoned his feats on every front page - larger forces viewed his notoriety as an opportunity to enlarge their own empires. While this Public Enemy No 1 and his gang - including the sociopathic Baby Face Nelson (Stephen Graham), Pretty Boy Flody (Channing Tatum) and Alvin Karpis (Giovanni Ribisi) - thrilled many, Hoover hit on the idea of exploiting the outlaw"s capture as a way to elevate his FBI into a national agency. For three decades, director Michael Mann has remained one of cinema"s most compelling filmmakers. From 'Thief", 'Manhunter", 'Ali" and 'Heat" to 'The Last of the Mohicans" and 'The Insider", as well as 'Collateral" and 'Miami Vice", his lasting dramas have brought to the screen a series of tough, iconic figures embodied by the most commanding actors in modern cinema. In this timely film, Mann teams up with Depp to examine the man whose criminal exploits captivated a nation besieged by financial hardship and ready to celebrate a mythic figure who robbed the banks that had impoverished them and outsmarted the authorities who had failed to remedy their hard times. A man who inspired the first nationwide war on crime, who led a band of accomplished armed robbers on a cascade of dazzling heists and improbable breakouts, and whose dashing manner and charisma entranced an entire country. When Hoover sent Purvis, the dashing 'Clark Gable of the FBI', to snare him, Dillinger and his gang outwitted and outgunned Purvis" men in wild chases and shootouts. Only after importing a crew of lawmen from the Dallas bureau and orchestrating epic betrayals - from the infamous 'Lady in Red" (Branka Katic) to Chicago crime boss Frank Nitti (Bill Camp) - were the FBI finally able to close the net on their prey. 'There was no hint of hardness about him, no evidence save in the alert presence of armed policemen that he had spent his formative years in a penitentiary. He had none of the sneer of the criminal...Looking at him for the first time...he rates as the most amazing specimen of his kind ever seen.' So said the Chicago Daily News in January 1934. Mann explains the appeal Dillinger"s story held for him: 'Dillinger, probably the best bank robber in American history, only lasted 13 months. He was paroled in May of 1933, and by July 22 1934, he was dead. Dillinger didn"t 'get out" of prison; he exploded onto the landscape. And he was going to have everything and get it right now.' Dillinger and his crew used a number of strengths to their advantage - the latest in automatic weaponry, a fragmented public safety system that had not yet been nationalised, state-of-the-art Ford V8 getaway cars and an anti-banking sentiment from the very public whose banks they plundered. While they could easily argue with his methods, few who saw the newsreels during Saturday matinees would disagree that someone was finally 'sticking it' to the fat cats who they felt had destroyed their lives. When he was killed, fans of the 'Jackrabbit" dipped handkerchiefs in the pool left by his blood, and thousands lined up at the morgue to view his body. From curious onlookers to lawmen, everyone wanted a piece of the legacy. 'Public Enemies" will surely be one of the big hits of the summer of 2009. From to excellent interplay between Depp and Bale to the clever portrayal of a young Hoover by Crudup, there are few bum notes in the acting department. Once again, cinematographer Dante Spinotti combines well with Mann presenting the stylised violence and period detail to inspiring effect, and the recurring song 'Ten Million Slaves" by Otis Taylor perfectly suits the Depression era mood. In a cinema season without any clear winners so far, 'Public Enemies" is a must.