Nostalgic, well-acted gangster thriller, with some serious flaws in the pacing of the story though

Rating: Null/10 (22 July 2010)

During the 1930s, which marked the infamous era of the Great Depression, a number of gangsters appeared on the scene and went on killing and robbing sprees throughout the United States. Among them were Bonnie & Clyde, who were immortalized through the 1967, but also Machine Gun Kelly, Pretty Boy Floyd, and John Dillinger. Now, the book "Public Enemies", by Bryan Burrough, which I have indeed read, is about the careers of all of these criminals, and one can assume that the film would have been about six hours long, if all the material from the source would have been incorporated.
Michael Mann, director of acclaimed crime thrillers such as "Heat", and "Collateral", decided to focus on the bank robber John Dillinger and his permanent cat and mouse game with the just recently established FBI. While several historic liberties were taken, the film creates a wonderfully nostalgic atmosphere in 1930s Chicago and other locations, and gives the audience an interesting perspective on the increasing crime spree during these days. Gangster thrillers are not exactly my favorite genre, but this film is a notable exception, as it is more the portrait of two extremely different men, one is the hunter, and one the pray, but both are outstanding in their wits and cunningness.
It is the Great Depression, and several gangsters emerge over the United States and go on a crime spree as there has never been one before in the country. J. Edgar Hoover, the ambitious head of the newly established Federal Bureau of Investigation, asks for more government funding, but is denied and his capability as a leader is repeatedly questioned. One of his most outstanding men, Melvin Purvis, manages to kill one of the most notorious criminals of the time, Pretty Boy Floyd, and earns Hoover's recognition and is entrusted with the task of heading the Chicago field office. Meanwhile, John Dillinger breaks out several of his friends out of the Indiana State Prison, where one of his best men is shot and killed by a guard. After robbing another bank, Dillinger meets Billie Frechette, and she is immediately charmed by his passion and enthusiasm for freedom, even though he tells her quite quickly how he makes his living. Purvis quickly gets onto Dillinger, but during a stakeout at a hotel, Purvis realizes that it wasn't Dillinger hiding out there, but another gangster known as Baby Face Nelson. Quickly, a cat and mouse game ensues between the two, and it is only a matter of time before one of them kills the other.
The mood of this film is extremely dark and the entire atmosphere is nostalgic, perfectly recreating the tone of the 1930s in the United States. Mann cut out several of the story lines found in the book and left out a number of criminals or reduces them to supporting players, like Pretty Boy Floyd and Baby Face Nelson. The entire film, which is just short of 2 1/2 hours, concentrates on the bank robber John Dillinger and his relationship with Billie Frechette, as well as his numerous escapes from the FBI. Even though the majority of the agents are portrayed as clueless amateurs, who make numerous mistakes that allow Dillinger and his gang to get away, the book points that out even clearer, and it's quite evident how much the Bureau has changed in the last 70 years. "Public Enemies" is a very quiet film most of the time, that only uses music sparingly, and that heavily focuses on character development. Once in a while the dialogs are interrupted by short shootings, which more or less succeed in keeping my attention, but unfortunately they also made me realize how long and slow-paced the rest of the scenes really were the movie really could have been quite a bit shorter. It almost seems like the writers couldn't decide whether this film should be about Dillinger and his love interest, or Dillinger robbing banks and shooting up the Feds, and instead of going deep into one or the other, at times they don't really seem to get into either one of the two. The cutting and action scenes look almost a bit sloppy and amateurish at times, but for some reason it seems to fit with the mood of the film.
One of the greatest parts about this film is without a doubt Johnny Depp, who cleverly avoids being stereo cast too much by occasionally playing dramatic roles instead of weird ones for his friend Tim Burton, and succeeds in bringing John Dillinger back to life. He brings an incredible personality to the character, without making him seem really likable, but instead playing him like he probably was in real life, cold and risk-taking. On the other side there's Christian Bale, adding another impressive performance to his resume, as FBI agent Melvin Purvis. Even though he stands on the good side of the law, he comes over as extremely cold and calculating, and there are very few scenes where he actually shows his warm and friendly side.. Marion Cotillard shows once again how much talent she has as Billie Frechette, Dillinger's naive, but eventually really tough girlfriend. Even though her acting is superb, I didn't find Dillinger's and Frechette's relationship too convincing and much too cold to have actually worked out. Maybe that is, because whenever they got really close, the scene was interrupted by another shooting. Those three dominate the plot and very few other actors manage to leave an impression, mainly because you can't keep up with the rapid introductions of new characters. Billy Crudup makes a convincing J. Edgar Hoover, but the character is really not explored too much, which also goes for Giovanni Ribisi and Channing Tatum.
Michael Mann went down with "Miami Vice", but with "Public Enemies" he went straight back to the top again, and let's hope he'll stay there with the next round of ammo he'll deliver.