If your a Michael Mann Fan you ll love it.

Rating: 9/10 (3 July 2009)

I went into this movie with a clear expectation that I was going to love every minute of it. I am a big Michael Mann fan and also love Johnny Depp and Christian Bale ( although after Terminator Salvation I must admit Bale has sunk a little in my estimation) There was just a slightly lingering doubt due to the fact that his last movie, Miami Vice was well pants. Plus I did think that to make a Gangster movie that actually can stand toe to toe with the best IE Goodfellas Godfether etc is more and more difficult. Yet to my surprise Public Enemies within about 10 minutes had me convinced.
The opening scene was visceral and packed with energy, reminding me of what it was first likewatching the shoot out in Heat and it showed without a doubt that this was Michael Mann back at the top of his game. The sound the editing the look of the film, it is obvious that he has spent hours honing this film until it dazzles.
Story wise Public Enemies is what you expect, there are no real twists and despite the title it really is only about one public enemy, John Dilinger portrayed amazingly and subtly by Johnny Depp. This is not as you may expect a Heat style two hander, Purvis, the character played by Bale is really there to show how Dilinger was ultimately brought down and to act as a foil to Dilinger. Whereas Dilinger shows his humanity creep through almost from the off,holding onto a dying comrade as they make their getaway, Purvis seems cold and detached arresting Pretty Boy Floyd and reading him his rights whilst he is dying, stomach exposed bleeding everywhere.
The most amazing aspect of Public Enemies for me was simply the way it was shot. This was no stylised film noir style this was realistic and gritty as if someone with a digital camera had travelled back to 1933 and shot what they saw. This is what is the key to its success and the reason why I think it deserves a mention alomg with the greatest classics of the genre. This approach makes the film seem real and new. Even though the audience can see from a mile away where this film is going almost from the off it still managed to enthrall and draw me in. Indeed this is the point- the film itself reminds me of what Sergio Leone said about Once Upon A Time in The West- that it was meant to resemble the last dying breaths of a person. This is what Public Enemies is - one long dying breath for Dilinger. But as good as Bale and Depp are the real heart of the movie belongs to Marion Collitard as Billy Frechette. She has a great classical beauty and her romance with Depp is both beautiful and sad.
Critics may scoff at the use of hand held camera, the lack of characterisation but this is Michael Mann and it is all as part of his style and the way he works as a film maker. People who complain about the hand held thing may think to remember that it was Micheal Mann himself who pretty much pioneered this technique back in Heat and it made for the first really explosive and realistic shootout in recent memory - a similar scene in Public Enemies reminds us that Mann is still the daddy when it comes to this stuff despite many imitators.
What is most significant about Mann though is that what he leaves out is as important as what he puts in. Mann paints characters as enigmas leaving the audience to draw their own conclusions. The dialogue is minimal and I love this about Mann- every word counts. There is no clumsy expositional dialogue, nothing to inform us about the characters backstory. When Collitard is swept away by Depp from her job working in a cloak room and she tells him she knows nothing about him he sums up his character is three seconds flat- "I like baseball, movies, good clothes, fast cars... and you" what more do you need to know?
Much of the character is expressed through imagery rather than dialogue . The ending sequence with Depp watching a Clark Gable movie gives you as many clues to his character and what made him tick as any book or documentary could . But hear"s the rub, you have to actually use your brain with this film. This is no sit down and turn your brain off movie, quite the opposite. Anyone willing to give it a go though is likely to find themselves rewarded.
The only reason it gets a nine is like Miami Vice before it, the middle section is just a tad too slow moving and my attention did start to wander a little, however once the tommy guns start blaring in the trademark shoot out I was sucked back in once again.
I think anyone who is a Michael Mann fan or wants to watch a film that does nt substitute plot and character for effects will enjoy this film. I found it a pleasant antidote to the rest of the summer s releases.