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During a typical year, sometime in February, I start looking forward to summer blockbusters; sometimes, that glimmer of big-budget, effects-filled hope is the only thing that gets me though the year’s movie dead zone. This year, however, I wasn’t really looking forward to the summer’s “event movies;” I was looking forward to seeing Johnny Depp in Public Enemies.
Director Michael Mann’s latest (following 2006’s Miami Vice remake) definitely isn’t the usual summer blockbuster—and it’s a surprising release for the typically Will-Smith-dominated Fourth of July weekend. After all, there aren’t any aliens or superheroes or giant robots—and Will Smith is nowhere in sight. Instead, it’s a pretty straightforward, character-driven period piece—the story of the notorious bank robber John Dillinger (Depp) and the FBI agent whose mission was to put him out of business.
The film follows Dillinger and his gang from bank robbery to nightclub to safe house, as they repeatedly evade capture by Agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) and the FBI’s new scientific methods of investigation. Along the way, Dillinger meets coat check girl Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard), and he brings her along on his reckless adventure—even though their relationship often puts both of them in danger.
For the most part, Public Enemies is a shaky blur of bank robberies, shootouts, and prison breaks. At times, it’s a fast and frantic action film, complete with gunfire and bloody gunshot wounds. At other times, though, it’s a character sketch, offering a glimpse of one of the country’s most notorious criminals. And, at still other times, it’s a period drama, capturing the look and feel—and even the political climate—of the 1930s. The problem, however, is that it’s very rarely all three things at the same time; there’s really no happy medium. The action scenes are usually fuzzy and wobbly and disorienting, and the more dramatic scenes tend to drag. Perhaps it would have worked a bit better if the storytelling had felt more cohesive, but there really isn’t much of a story at all—just a series of scenes from Dillinger’s life.
Still, though character development is also limited, Depp skillfully portrays the notorious gangster. He’s a fascinating character, and Depp gives him a healthy dose of heart, humanity, and even humor—so much so, in fact, that you can understand why Depression Era Americans often saw him as the good guy. He’s a kind of 1930s Robin Hood, gleefully stealing from rich bankers and evading cold, heartless drones, like Bale’s Purvis. Bale’s bland performance definitely doesn’t help his character’s case, either—and, in the end, despite Dillinger’s obvious faults (and despite the facts), you can’t help but hope he’ll pull off a cinematic miracle and win in the end.
Public Enemies certainly has its thrilling moments—and its memorable scenes—and Depp sometimes single-handedly makes the film enjoyable. But even Johnny Depp can’t carry the entire two and half hours of this unusual summer release. So while Public Enemies if often entertaining, the story’s lack of cohesion makes it less than satisfying.
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