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- Private Banks and Public Enemies (08/03/2009)
A Michael Mann film - and by that I mean a 1930s mix between Collateral Damage and Miami Vice. Baffled? You may well be. The movie said a lot, but in the end, it's easy not to care.
The cast is led by Johnny Depp, playing John Dillinger, a notorious 1930’s bank robber. His love interest, Billie Frechette, is played by France’s very talented Marion Cotillard, and finally, the law enforcement's top criminal hunter, Melvin Purvis, is played by the intense and smouldering Christian Bale.
There has been a lot of discussion about this film being like Heat, with a cat-and-mouse-like storyline, but it didn’t have any of that for me. Yes, Mann sticks to the actual events that took place in the '30s with this historical figure, but the story lacked depth. If you don't know who Dillinger is going into the cinema, you won’t really be told too much about him when your there.
There are a few moments were the suspense is great, but generally, the characters were thrown onto the screen, and it's hard to really care which side wins. Dillinger killed people - as did his gang - but he comes across as someone human, who mildly cares for civilians and his reputation, and falls in love in with a woman.
As for Purvis, it seemed he was a name and a blank face. It’s a shame because this character played well by Bale, but isn’t given enough screen time or the freedom to express his vast range of emotions. Bale's Purvis is in second gear all the way for the 20-30 minutes of screen time.
Mann also drops in some poignant events which make you think that what we see in law enforcement today is not thing new. The bureaucracy of setting up the FBI, the surveillance techniques, and in particular, the interrogation of a key ally to Dillinger; these things were occurring 70 years ago and have only worsened.
Public Enemies is a generic two-hour film of a genre that has been in existence since the dawn of cinema. Heat or The Departed it isn’t; Cops and Robbers it is.
There has been a lot of discussion about this film being like Heat, with a cat-and-mouse-like storyline, but it didn’t have any of that for me. Yes, Mann sticks to the actual events that took place in the '30s with this historical figure, but the story lacked depth. If you don't know who Dillinger is going into the cinema, you won’t really be told too much about him when your there.
There are a few moments were the suspense is great, but generally, the characters were thrown onto the screen, and it's hard to really care which side wins. Dillinger killed people - as did his gang - but he comes across as someone human, who mildly cares for civilians and his reputation, and falls in love in with a woman.
As for Purvis, it seemed he was a name and a blank face. It’s a shame because this character played well by Bale, but isn’t given enough screen time or the freedom to express his vast range of emotions. Bale's Purvis is in second gear all the way for the 20-30 minutes of screen time.
Mann also drops in some poignant events which make you think that what we see in law enforcement today is not thing new. The bureaucracy of setting up the FBI, the surveillance techniques, and in particular, the interrogation of a key ally to Dillinger; these things were occurring 70 years ago and have only worsened.
Public Enemies is a generic two-hour film of a genre that has been in existence since the dawn of cinema. Heat or The Departed it isn’t; Cops and Robbers it is.
Here Is The Writer : Omer Bhatti
Omer Bhatti, Head Sales Trader of WorldSpreads and markets commentator during the week, is always happy to go to a cushy cinema and devour films on the weekend. No film is ruled out, be it French film noir, Hollywood CGI action, or Japanese Manga. Look to Omer for input on where to go and what to see, whether it’s for a first date, family outing, Sunday recovery session, or guy's - or girl's - night out. (Just don't make him watch Sex & the City again.)
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