Depp doesn't disappoint, but, in the end, almost everything else does.

Rating: 8/10 (5 July 2009)

First of all, we must address the critical issue here. Johnny Depp is the best actor currently working. This places upon him the awesome responsibility of building a body of work while he is in his prime that will be worthy of him as a legacy. It is that standard against which Depp's work, including Public Enemies, must be measured. Even in those lofty terms, Public Enemy is successful, but hardly a triumph.
I should also admit that I am a notorious Michael Mann hater. Sure, I liked The Aviator, but probably more despite Mann's touch than because of it. His envisioning of Will Graham, the central character of Thomas Harris's Manhunter, as an ersatz Miami Vice cool cat was criminal, and in the decades since he's really done little to redeem himself.
Public Enemies is, of course, set in post-depression Indiana, where John Dillinger was an unlikely folk hero. His grave at the Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis is regularly visited, as evidenced by the stacks of coins that are always resting on his stone. Depp's portrayal of Dillinger, perhaps the most satisfying aspect of the movie, reels with charisma befitting the legend, without becoming corny like Warren Beatty's Clyde Barrow.
Depp's scenes with Oscar winning leading lady Marion Cotillard smolder with a sexuality which the eccentric characters Depp often plays rarely give him the opportunity to portray, but which he does searingly. Throughout the movie, Depp is almost constantly on screen, and his presence is always electric and incendiary.
The rest of the cast is superb. Christian Bale, looking a little wan in this movie, is beautifully wooden as Melvin Purvis, reminding me a bit of Kevin Costner as Elliott Ness in The Untouchables. Speaking of The Untouchables, Billy Drago's portrayal of Frank Nitti in The Untouchables was much more powerful than Bill Camp's version here, but then Drago's character was more central to the story in The Untouchables.
Billy Crudup, fresh off his turn as the all powerful Dr. Manhattan in Watchmen, is almost unrecognizable as J. Edgar Hoover. He manages to capture the ambition and determination of Hoover, while avoiding the clichés associated with him, particularly with regard to Dillinger.
It's wonderful to see Giovanni Ribisi in a major picture again, and it looks like we'll be seeing more of him in the near future. Likewise Stephen Dorff and Lili Taylor. In fact, one has to give Mann credit for assembling such a great cast, although credit for this probably goes to the amazing work of Avy Kaufman and Bonnie Timmermann, both of whom are among the most sought after casting professionals in Hollywood.
And now to the movie. Although the story plays out pretty predictably, as any such movie must, at times it reels and lurches like a music video, complete with period soundtrack. Little could be presented about this story that isn't already known, so, instead, we get touchstones decorated with details most likely imagined, albeit convincingly.
Technically speaking, the movie is put together nicely, and why not? Master cinematographer Dante Spinotti and his HD cameras illuminate every scene in scintillating detail. Elliot Goldenthal's soundtrack is equally thrilling, if for no other reason than its authenticity.
Now you might be asking, at this point, with all the talent assembled here, what went wrong, because, as you might imagine I have been leading up to, something did go wrong. Well, it's the script. Cowritten by Mann, along with Ronan Bennett and Ann Biderman, it just doesn't happen.
With Mann and Bennett, I'm not surprised; neither has shown himself to be a particularly capable writer as such. But Biderman gave us Primal Fear and Copycat, so I expected more. Essentially, however, the story ends up dramatically inert and more than a little uneven. As I mentioned, it "reads" like a music video, desperately lacking narrative foundation and structure. The central characters, most of them epic in real life, lack depth, and little is done to capture the dramatic tension inherent in their collisions.
I'll be honest. I went to see this movie for one reason – because Johnny Depp is in it. When Mann works with marquee talent, it usually works. Take Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in Heat, but then, how could you go wrong with that much talent? With Public Enemies, despite all the assembled brilliance, what you end up with is essentially a wind-up story left to unwind on its own, which it does predictably and without much of a payoff. Definitely worth a watch, and Depp doesn't disappoint, but, in the end, almost everything else does.