Public Enemies: Depp in a superb gangster thriller

Written by Mark Schumann, Father of Three
Friday, 10 July 2009 12:23

Just when I had started to lose faith in Hollywood movies — after a dismal start to the 2009 film year — arrives a classic for the ages, Michael Mann’s brilliant revision of the gangster genre, Public Enemies. With a solid script, thrilling visual work by Mann, and a sterling performance from Johnny Depp, this is easily the best film of the year to date, and a certain contender for end-of-the-year movie honors.

 

We have seen it all before — the gangsters, the guns, the molls — but never has such a familiar film setting been given such a new look. Everything about Public Enemies feels fresh. The lead character is a complex creation of anxieties, aspirations and ambition. The recreated Prohibition-era settings actually look like real places in a real time with a stylistic veneer that makes them artistically thrilling. And the set pieces of gangster violence ring with a thrilling tension that gives the audience a great roller-coaster ride.

 

The film would be a startling achievement no matter the content. But the fact that Mann can create such an innovative picture in the most familiar of movie genres is particularly impressive. Never does he reach back into the familiar gangster cinema bag of tricks. Never do we feel we are watching a retread of The Untouchables, Bonnie and Clyde or the original Public Enemy. Instead we are treated to something so new, so fresh and so inviting.

Rather than begin with a traditional narrative starting point, Mann wisely chooses to open the film as if in the middle, with Depp as gangster John Dillinger leading a prison break. Quickly he organizes his group of hoodlums to initiate a lucrative series of bank robberies, always with style, always with violence, always with purpose. But we quickly learn there is a lot more to this man than the guns he totes. He is a tortured soul, unable to find peace, yearning to find connection. And when he discovers a focus for his personal interests in Billie Frechette, played by the lovely Marion Cotillard in a captivating supporting performance, we see a deeper side of the man who just happens to rob and kill for a living. He could be any executive seeking a personal life; only, with this man, the business he leads leaves others dead in his path.

Mann wisely avoids the familiar patterns in these films. Instead of projecting the lead character’s ultimate downfall, he intersperses the sequences of Dillinger’s triumphs with the bumbling efforts of the FBI to track him down. Led by the inept detective Melvin Purvis, played with the usual quiet intensity by Christian Bale, the Feds are certainly not the crime-solving heroes that movies tend to portray. They are, instead, a federal government joke, unable to follow the most simple of leads, or complete the most ordinary tasks. With stinging criticism by J. Edgar Hoover, in a devastatingly fun cameo by Billy Crudup, the Feds just can’t seem to get it right, and any success they experience is completely accidental.

Depp is a revelation. Finally freed from the wild makeup and exaggerated gestures of his outrageous collection of cinema characters, he builds the performance from within, with a quiet intensity that is totally authentic and compelling. This is, without question, his finest work as an actor, and a confirmation that beneath the eye liner lives an actor of unlimited potential.

It’s no surprise that, of all Hollywood directors, Michael Mann would be the one to reinvent the gangster film. He has shown — from The Insider to Collateral — an uncanny ability to rethink the obvious. And, this time, he has created a fabulous film that restores our belief in the studio system and gives us all something to cheer about.

5 Popcorn Buckets

Film Nutritional Value:

Public Enemies

* Content: High. This is a thrilling film, as much a character study as an action piece. But it’s not for children — with its use of language and violence.

* Entertainment: High. Public Enemies offers a fabulous roller coaster ride and reinvents the gangster movie genre.

* Message: Medium. Such films rarely contain meaningful messages. That’s not what it’s trying to do.

* Relevance: High. A fine piece of movie making is always relevant especially after the dismal start to this movie year.

* Opportunity for Dialogue: High. While not for family viewing, the adults will find lots to talk about, and savor.

Free shipping, buy atarax no prescription, the best solution. You can order or, buy augmentin no prescription, Fast and easy. With us you can, buy avodart no prescription, or order online.