Heat of the 1930s

Rating: 8/10 (15 July 2009)

The summer of 2009 has offered nothing by poor blockbusters. Public Enemies is so refreshing, a mature film for grown ups.
The 1930s were a poor time to be around, The Great Depression was in full swing, unemployment was high and fascism in Europe was on the rise. It was also a poor time to be a lawman or bank employee in the Mid-West of America. The 1930s was a time were America had high profile bank robbers. One of the most famous was John Dillinger (Johnny Depp). He was thorn in the side of American law enforcement and became public enemy number 1. He you going between states to avoid being arrested. But Dillinger was a popular, Robin Hood like figure who only robbed the banks, not the people. He terrorise banks in Chicago and Indiana and frees his crew from public. The director of the FBI J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) was lobbying Congress for more funding and give the FBI more power via the Crime Bill. Congress rejects the proposals and so Hoover starts a media campaign. He declares America's 'first war on crime' and names John Dillinger his big target. He is obviously playing politics. He makes G-Man, Special Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale), the head of the Chicago Field Officer and more importantly find and arrest Dillinger. Purvis aims to bring scientific and professional methods into crime investigation. In the middle of all this Dillinger finds romances with Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard), a half native-American cloakroom girl from Chicago. A similar sub-plot to what happen Robert De Niro in Heat.
Michael Mann is an excellent director but had recently had a dip in form with Miami Heat. He is back with a winner, directing excellent actors, story and action with this film. He directs with style and flair and does fancy tricks which show that style can add substance. He directs excellent action set pieces with instance camera work, and doesn't overuse shaky cam. He also gets a good feel for the 1930s. He keeps the story going for the most part, but the film does drag occasionally. Mann also leaves it ambiguous on who is the hero and villain of the film.
Johnny Depp is excellent as the charismatic John Dillinger and easily the best performer in the film. He is an early contender for best actor for when award season comes around. Christian Bale offered a good performance, but his character does lack depth and disappears when he is not around. Marion Cotillard is a good actress and does well in the film, she even has a good American accent. Billy Crudup was also fine and slimy as J. Edgar Hoover and was last seen being big, blue and naked.
Public Enemies is flawed, but is one of the better films of 2009.