Horribly Inaccurate

Rating: 7/10 (1 July 2009)

After much anticipation I just returned from Public Enemies. Though a very watchable movie it is amazingly inaccurate. Pretty Boy Floyd was not killed by Melvin Purvis and was still alive when Dillinger died (as was Van Meter and Nelson). Not only that but Purvis was a complete imbecile. Hoover disliked him but had no other choice until bringing in Samuel Cowley, who was technically in charge when Dillinger was gunned down. The Little Bohemia scene, again though interesting, was way off base. That event was one of the biggest disasters for the FBI. Everyone of importance got away. Plus it was a rookie Fed who killed the citizen as they tried to leave, not Purvis (there was very little shooting that night, unlike the movie). Then at the end Hamilton was Dillinger's new girlfriend though not portrayed that way in this movie. That's why he went to the theatre that night. The movie made it seem like some random event. And, last but not least, no one heard what Dillinger muttered when he was lying in the street dying. Worth the price of admission but don't try and write a biography paper for school from it.