Familiar Territory, But Still Pretty Good Stuff

Rating: 9/10 (9 December 2009)

This is a solid crime movie; not fantastic, but good. For older viewers, the story of John Dillinger is familiar territory. Most everyone knows about the famous and where and how he died.....so isn't easy making a film where a sizable part of the audience knows the ending. Yet, thanks to the acting, directing and photography, I found it an interesting film.
Johnny Depp isn't just some actor who likes to play weird roles; he's simply a good actor who can be convincing whether he's "Edward Scissorhands," Willie Wonka" or "Public Enemy No. 1 (Dillinger)." It also was interesting to see Marion Cotillard, the star who played singer Edith Piaf in "La Vie En Rose," playing Dillinger's girl "Billie Freschette." Wow, it seems like very strange casting, but it works. The same goes for the always-fascinating Christopher Bale who portrays FBI agent "Melvin Purvis." The film has no lulls, despite it being two hours and 20 minutes and not overdoing the action scenes.
Kudos to Director Michael Mann for another fine job, too. The one extended action part - the shootout in Wisconsin - is reminiscent of Mann's dramatic shootout in the streets of Los Angeles in the 1995 movie, "Heat." It is an eye-opener.
Yet as much as I enjoyed the movie, somehow I kept thinking the film could be more involving because none of the characters is someone who is endearing, even though that probably is a pretty accurate picture of the real people. In the early '30s, neither gangsters or the police were particularly likable although Dillinger was seen as a folk hero to many as if he was a modern-day Robin Hood. The film, I thought, made him somewhat neutral. The same goes for Frechette and Purvis. I admire the restraint on the part of the screenwriters but I didn't feel they did a good job giving a good character study of anyone.
Regardless, if you like good acting, a good period piece with cool 1930s cars and machine guns a-blazing, you should enjoy this. See it on HD, too; it looks terrific.