Public Enemies
A couple things that can be said right now about Michael Mannās 2009 disaster: The art direction and production design, right down to the costumes, are immaculate and look great, and the film features both an evocative opening scene showing John Dillinger escaping from prison complemented by an appearance from character acting legend James Russo as an old friend of his that gets shot down during the break, along with a stylish climax showing Dillingerās downfall outside of the Biograph Theatre in Chicago. That all being said, there is nothing else REMOTELY good about this film whatsoever, starting with several basic technical issues. The sound mix is woefully uneven, leaving the viewer unable to hear the dialogue until itās cranked up suddenly at certain words and phrases (reportedly because Mann had a falling out with his crew, who reportedly sabotaged the quality in post production), leaving one scratching their head if Univeral Pictures exercised any kind of quality control before releasing the film. Also, the editing, particularly during shootouts, is so sloppy that one canāt tell whoās been shot and who gets away, like when Dillinger appears to be in a car with several accomplices who get cut down by the Feds, only for him to appear in the next scene many miles away tending to a wounded comrade. Finally, there is the cinematography, which utilizes supposedly state of the art high definition cameras, not a bad idea when making a modern day film (like Mannās Collateral), but embarrassingly high gloss when applied to a period piece like this, at times making the 1930s look positively futuristic and taking the viewer out of the film. But thatās not where it ends: the script is amazingly shallow, failing with almost all character development as itās impossible to figure out who the supporting characters are and what their meaning to the story is, unlike Mannās Heat which smoothly sketched out all its characters. Like that film, it appears that Mann has set the criminal and the lawman against each other with Depp and Bale filling in for DeNiro and Pacino, but unlike the previous film, neither man comes close to resembling three-dimensional human beings, leaving the two talented leads to do what they can: Deppās Dillinger is so obviously a overly romanticized, Hollywood version of the legendary criminal, with dialogue that comes across as corny platitudes instead of the way real people talk, more akin to Dillinger explaining in blunt terms how badass he is coupled with some real groaners (upon seeing his girlfriend in the bathtub, Depp grins and asks her āAre you ready for Prince Albert?ā). As for Bale, saddled with the thankless role of legendary FBI agent Melvin Purvis (who in real life brought down many notorious criminals), this talented actor is wasted playing a character that can charitably be described as a competent and efficient stooge for J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup in an unsavory turn), with no real insight whatsoever on what makes the man tick, even as Mann seems confused with whether or not he wants the audience to perceive him as an utter asshole or as someone who goes about his business with no emotion at all. Then thereās the role of Dillingerās girlfriend and love of his life played by Marion āI won an Oscar?ā Cotillard: Walking through the film with a dazed, dead-eyed expression that when she opens her mouth comes across as a 10 year old suffering from mild mental retardation, Cotillard establishes herself as an actress to avoid in the future, right down to perhaps the most unsexy love scene in cinema history between her and Depp, made all the worse by Deppās rambling narration during the scene where he talks about the meaning of his life and such. Itās a shame to think that a couple of years before this she actually snatched the Best Actress Oscar out of the hands of Ellen Page for Juno. Other notable actors who float in and out of the horribly written piece include Stephen Dorff and Giovanni Ribisi as apparent partners in crime with Dillinger, Channing Tatum in a brief hilarious cameo as Pretty Boy Floyd, Rory Cochrane, Stephen Lang, and MMA legend Don Frye as background character FBI agents, Lili Taylor as an overconfident female sheriff, and Leelee Sobieski sadly slumming on the tailend of her career as one of the hookers who sets up Dillinger at the end. The story (rife with historical inaccuracies) feature many moments that are just not believable (and didnāt actually happen), like when Bale recognizes one of Dillingerās accomplices and does nothing, instead waiting for more henchmen to show up so that he has a fighting chance to get away, or Dillinger casually walking into the FBI offices and asking the agents the score of the baseball game theyāre paying attention to, or then thereās when Cotillard gets out of a car driven by Dillinger and is immediately grabbed by about 20 FBI agents while Dillinger looks on and the agents donāt notice him. Overall, considering the talent both in front of and behind the camera, a cinematic turkey that will have to go down as one of the biggest disappointments of all timeā¦
3/10