One of Mann's and this year's best!

Rating: 9/10 (3 July 2009)

Praying that Mann wouldn't mess up like he did with the film "Miami Vice" I went to see his "Public Enemies" today. As soon as the movie started with the opening prison breakout my attention was held from start to finish. It felt nice to see Michael Mann at his brilliant best again. I will admit that "Heat" will always be his landmark crime saga, but "Public Enemies" is an excellent follow-up.
Like all of his movies, Mann jumps right into action without any dull monologue, or having a character explain the story as it goes along. It is clear enough to know what's going on and who's who. The 1930s crime spree is not my specialty in history, but I checked up on some of the characters that are portrayed in the film and many of the accuracies are right on, particularly with John Dillinger.
Adding to the film's trueness to its time period is some wonderful costumes and set designs as well as music that fit not only with the era, but also to the story. When there's an emotional peak, it hits it, when there's suspense it picks up on that too, without getting bombastic.
But the one thing I had difficulty with this film is the sound. Probably for the first half hour of the film, the dialog is very low, its volume focused on the sound effects and gunshots. Michael Mann is known for this, particularly in the big gun battle in "Heat" but it stands out very noticeably, and is very disappointing.
Another thing is the hand-held camera. I have no problem with hand-held, but at some scenes it seems out of place. There are also no huge lighting techniques that are used in this movie like in "Road to Perdition" or "Changeling." Instead, it seems the cinematographer chose a wider aperture, or opening to let more light in. People on the IMDb board have complained about this, but I personally like it. I think one of the most well done scenes with this technique is a gun battle that takes place at night. You can see what's going on, but at the same time it is hard, like it would be at night. The only source of light used is from artificial sources that take place on the screen.
Performances wise, they were great all around, though I wouldn't consider any Oscar-worthy. Depp, as always, gets into character and becomes John Dilinger. He's easily a guy the audience can sympathize with, but this doesn't necessarily mean all the bad guys are depicted as heroes. Some of them are pretty bad ass while others can be likable. This is the same way with cops. Several I absolutely despise while others I respect. Bale is one that is not necessarily the one to sympathize with, but is a guy that can be deeply respected as a hardboiled crime fighter.
Marion Cotillard, who I now appreciate for her mesmerizing work in "La Vein Rose" is gorgeous, and pulls off an okay accent. Personally though, her voice seemed a little out of place for her character, but nevertheless, she's great. In fact, there's an intense scene, in which I won't spoil, that delivers very powerfully. I doubt she won't get a nomination (that'll probably come around for her upcoming film "Nine"). Overall, "Public Enemies" is a great film. It's not the best I've seen, but one of Mann's best and this year's best.
Overall rating: **** out of ****
I will point out that there is hardly any swearing which is nice, but it is very, very violent.