Public Enemies (2009)

Director:

Michael Mann

Writers (WGA):

Ronan Bennett (screenplay) and
Michael Mann (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 July 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Crime | Drama | History | Thriller

Tagline:

America's Most Wanted

Plot:

The Feds try to take down notorious American gangsters John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd during a booming crime wave in the 1930s.

Plot Keywords:

John Dillinger | 1930s | Gangster | Organized Crime | J. Edgar Hoover

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

James Russo	...	Walter Dietrich
David Wenham	...	Harry 'Pete' Pierpont
Christian Stolte	...	Charles Makley
Jason Clarke	...	John 'Red' Hamilton
Johnny Depp	...	John Dillinger
John Judd	...	Turnkey
Stephen Dorff	...	Homer Van Meter
Michael Vieau	...	Ed Shouse
John Kishline	...	Guard Dainard
Wesley Walker	...	Jim Leslie
John Scherp	...	Earl Adams
Elena Kenney	...	Viola Norris
William Nero Jr.	...	Farm Boy
Channing Tatum	...	Pretty Boy Floyd
Christian Bale	...	Melvin Purvis

MPAA:

Rated R for gangster violence and some language.

Runtime:

140 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #45171) | Ireland:15A | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | UK:15 | South Korea:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Singapore:NC-16 | New Zealand:R16 | Mexico:B15 | Hong Kong:IIB | Australia:MA (Violence) | Norway:15 | Finland:K-15 | Philippines:R-13 | Sweden:15 | Brazil:16 | Argentina:13 | Portugal:M/16 | Iceland:16 | Germany:12 (w) | India:A | Netherlands:16 | Taiwan:R-12 | Japan:G

Filming Locations:

Aurora, Illinois, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Due to the concern of grave robbers, officials at Crown Hill Cemetery persuaded Dillinger's father to have his famous son's grave re-opened so as to place staggered concrete slabs, along with poured concrete and chicken wire, in and around the grave as a permanent deterrent. He'd already been offered $10,000 from a Wisconsin carnival man to "borrow" Dillinger's body for his show, an offer that was fiercely rejected. The grave work was done within a day or two of the initial burial. The identity of who paid for this expensive preventative measure is unknown.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the film, the three workers that come out of Little Bohemia Lodge get into a 1932 Chevy 4-door. It actually should be a 1933 Chevy coupe. The car the gang used for the Racine robbery in the film (with the blonde hostage) was a 1935 Buick 90. It should actually be a 1933 Buick 90.

Quotes:

John Dillinger: You wanna know if we're armed? We're armed.

Movie Connections:

References Little Miss Marker (1934)

Soundtrack:

Love Me Or Leave Me

Not one of Mann's best, but still...

Whenever a Michael Mann movie comes out, I am besieged by expectations. This is one director whose style I seem to consistently like. The Insider, Heat, Collateral, The Last of the Mohicans, and yes.. I LOVED Miami Vice the movie (despite the many negative reviews it seemed to have got). So, when Public Enemies came out, and seeing Mann team up with Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, I knew I could not miss this. However, probably because of the high standards he has set for himself, I was a little disappointed with this.

The story is about a gangster bank robber, John Dillinger(Johnny Depp), back in the '30's, who pulled off a couple of daring heists and prison breaks. He was generally considered a hero among the public, as this was during the years of the great depression and Dillinger was seen as someone who steals from the rich man. A fledging FBI, led by the peerless J. Edgar Hoover, decide to hunt him down so that they can grow the organization, and name him Public Enemy Number 1. Melvin Purvis(Christian Bale) is assigned the task of leading this group of agents.

Johnny Depp is as usual great, but you get a feeling he would have been even better if the script had given enough scope to explore the character of Dillinger. The same goes with his love interest, played by Marillon Cotillard. Again, a wonderful actress, but at times the love story seemed forced into the story. Despite this, they have great chemistry.

Which brings me to Christian Bale. This is an actor who has so much more to offer than the half baked roles he has been getting this year. You get a feeling this year that he is being offered big movies which don't give him a character he can bite his teeth into. First there was Terminator Salvation, and now this. In both, his character never really seemed into the movie as compared to the others. I'm waiting to see a movie again where he will assert himself.

Despite the flaws, this is still a good movie from Mann. Just don't go in expecting it to out do his best.