A character-film who is up for it.

Rating: 7/10 (27 July 2009)

At the end of Michael Mann's new film 'Public Enemies' we see bankrobber John Dillinger, played by Johnny Depp, smiling wryly at a cinema screen where Clark Gable is acting out as a gangster whose about to be executed in the electrocution chair, as he's passing by a fellow criminal's cell he says "Die like you live; all of a sudden". It's a rock & roll cliché; live fast - die young. But Dillinger sees no tomorrow, when checking up on the lovely Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard) he rapidly fires his biography and tastes of life in the matter of seconds, as he says; what more do you need to know? And what more does Dillinger need to know than life - right here, right now. He's turned into a alternative 1920s Robin Hood when the Great Depression is lying heavy on US society; when robbing a bank for hundreds of thousands and raising those Tommy-Guns high, he quickly but importantly tells a bystander whose emptied his pockets to put his dough back in, it's not his money they're after. John Dillinger, who's enormously interesting biography is sadly little apparent, is here portrayed as a romantic, runaway boy with looks to kill and loyalty that goes beyond, he sticks it to the boss and lets everyone see his principles of life and how it should be. And with Johnny Depp performing, it's all pretty great I have to say. The character is complex, his emotions are dark and hidden, and Depp turns all his calibers down to a minimum to achieve this undercurrent wildness, restlessness and sorrow in his eyes - at his opposite there's FBI-agent Melvin Purvis, a strictly conducting lawman who goes face-to-face with anybody who questions his authority; played out by Christian Bale, also he turns out a mellow performance, mute and straight-faced. Audiences may recall Mann's 1995-classic 'Heat' when these two opposites of the law go chasing one another, but where Pacino and De Niro understood each other, Depp and Bale are the complete opposites. Still, also Depp's Dillinger feels the heat around the corner when authorities catch up with his girl, Billie. And it's here Mann triggers heavy, the romance between Dillinger and Billie are important matters, and why not? Dillinger's striding for life and all its goods, and what's better than the love for another a human being? The director has been flirting up these alleys before (Heat, Miami Vice) but has never achieved the same tenderness that he does here, and although it's not better than anything he's done before, it's different, and thereby interesting. Now, although the film's PR and cast & crew has been tightly remarking its historical accuracy, everybody who's read a few articles about Mr. Dillinger and the times surrounding him knows that there's several flaws throughout the film - for my taste that's not very important, what's important is that Mann has created another crime drama with timeless themes. Shot with an absolute brilliance by Dante Spinotti, amount of work put into the hand-held camera-work, editing, sound, production design, costume and locations are stunning - you won't hear a machine gun fire this loudly or see the night so bleakly light anywhere this year, in other words; the craftsmen-work are top-notch and are already strong contenders for the technical categories in the upcoming Oscars 2009. Powerfully realistic, but still with a feverishly undertone of living life like a dream, this is Michael Mann's best film since 1999's 'The Insider'.