Crime-film maestro Michael Mann goes back to the ’30s for his latest
film, the characteristically hypnotic and moody Public Enemies.
Johnny Depp does amazing things as John Dillinger, the infamous bank
robber who should’ve opted for a nice summer drive rather than a movie
on a hot night in 1934.

Mann continues to be a master of stylistic crime drama. Public
Enemies stands alongside his Heat, Collateral and
Manhunter in the genre.

Depp, even though he is 15 years older than Dillinger when he died,
is right at home in the role. Anybody who has seen Dillinger’s smirk in
old photos will know that Depp has nailed the man’s look and attitude.
And when Dillinger is seen displaying his menacing smile as he watches
Clark Gable in Manhattan Melodrama just moments before being
gunned down, you can see Depp reveling in the moment. Dillinger
probably related to the goings-on in the last movie he watched, and
Depp eerily portrays this.

Aside from the Depp performance, the most notable thing about the
film involves the shootouts, and there are plenty. Mann actually did a
night shoot at the location of the legendary Little Bohemia Lodge
gunfight. I’m thinking folks associated with this film are going to get
nominated for some sound Oscars, because the thud of bullets hitting
trees in the forest is appropriately frightening. Mann also went to
great lengths to depict Dillinger’s two prison breakouts, and shot at
the actual jail in Crown Point, Ind., where the gangster carved a fake
gun out of wood and used it for his escape.

Mann and his fellow screenwriters take plenty of artistic license
when it comes to historical accuracy. Notorious criminals such as Baby
Face Nelson (Stephen Graham) and Pretty Boy Floyd (Channing Tatum) die
before Dillinger in the film, but actually outlived the man in real
life (although they all perished in 1934). There’s actually a very odd
moment in the film when Dillinger meets FBI agent Melvin Purvis (played
by Christian Bale) and calls him the man who got Pretty Boy Floyd.
History tells us that Floyd was still alive at the time being
depicted.

It’s easy to forgive the historical inaccuracies. It’s also easy to
forgive actress Marion Cotillard for slipping into her French accent
during a prison torture scene. Cotillard, who plays Dillinger
girlfriend Billie Frechette, is a fine actress who might need to work
on that American accent a little more. Still, her work as a Wisconsin
girl taken in by Dillinger’s charms is captivating.

While Depp might be the main attraction here, the work of Bale as
the determined Purvis is just as powerful. The script gives the man an
exaggerated role as far as bagging bad guys is concerned, but Bale’s
depiction of the crime fighter (made all the more interesting because
he is, indeed, Batman) is haunting.

If the movie has a major fault, it’s that it tries to jam too much
into its running time. J. Edgar Hoover, as portrayed by Billy Crudup,
could’ve used a little more screen time. Mann seemingly avoids much of
the controversy that plagued Hoover’s early career, including his
animosity toward Purvis. In this film, Hoover is basically portrayed as
an ornery boss who talks like he should be announcing a Chicago Cubs
baseball game.

These are mere quibbles. The film is one of the year’s best so far,
and it gives us another chance to bask in the greatness of Depp and
Mann. No doubt, there are many other movies that could be made about
the multiple figures in this film. As for showing us what Dillinger was
about, Public Enemies completes this task with style and
substance.

This article appears in Jul 9-15, 2009.