Public Enemies(PE) has all the elements of a good movie. It’s got style, it’s got guns, it’s got superstars and a great director and It’s got a substantial story to build on. And yet after the movie ended, I felt a sense of disbelief. I had to think about everything I’d just seen whizzing past me on the screen for about 150 minutes. And that’s not such a good thing. Allow me to explain.
*Plot:
*I’d rather not reveal too much of the plot through the review. It revolves around the golden age of crime in Depression-era America. Set around 4 years after the beginning of the Great Depression, the movie tells the story of John Dillinger’s claim to and fall from fame. John Dillinger was a notorious gangster from that age, who received much less publicity than another crook - Mr. Al Capone. Maybe that’s a good thing.
The story tells you about Mr. Dillinger’s modus operandi, how he stole and from where, etc. It also sheds light on the exploits of Mr. Purvis(played by Christian Bale), the newly-appointed head of the anti-gangster squad. They throw in a cameo by the great Mr. Hoover(1st director of the FBI), played very capably by BIlly Crudup.
So the movie is a 150 minute shooter-fest that has tommy guns, 3-piece suits, classy cars with V-8 engines and all the pomp and grandeur we associate with that era of the USA.
*Performances:
*I’m not Johnny Depp’s biggest fan. Not that I mind him, but I get a little bored of the fact that he’s almost always playing an unusual character(Jack Sparrow, anyone?). If it’s not Edward Scissorshands, it’s Willy Wonka. If it’s not Donnie Brasco, It’s the Demon Barber from Hell. Even wikipedia describes Johnny Depp as an actor known to play eccentric, off-beat characters.
Having said that, I was very pleasantly surprised to see Depp slip into one of the most’normal’ characters he’s ever played. Infact, I would go so far as to say that the whole movie is carried on his rather small shoulders. As John Dillinger, you feel for the friendly-neighbourhood gangster(yes, I typed that), the lover, the caring friend and the cunning criminal. Right to the end. And that’s the mark of a great actor. You’ll enjoy some of his one-liners, especially the scene where he’s interrupted during his conversation with his woman, and he bitch-slaps the idiot who dared to speak.
Christian Bale, who plays Dillinger’s foe, is the same - the usual stone-faced good guy. Did someone tell him that they finished shooting’The Dark Knight’ two years ago? A lot has been said about Christian Bale’s acting skills, but I’m yet to see him in a role where he actually emotes more than the scenery around him. Never-the-less, you cant hold it against him as his character demands that he be about as expressive as a tree.
The rest of the cast does a good job, Marion Cotillard as Dillinger’s love interest, and Billy Crudup as Hoover are very strong performers.
Look / Feel:
The director manages to capture the 1930’s on film very well. The colours are vivid and yet predominantly dark, the mood sombre and the costumes are great. But he does resort to a particular technique that I actually found quite distracting.
Nearly all the action sequences are shot in high-definition, fast film. This results in some breath-taking fire-fights and the deliberate avoidance of the steady-cam shots add to the level of immersion. But after a point, it begins to feel a bit gimmicky. I found myself blinded by the flash of gun-fire, the constantly shifting frame and as a result - you begin to not see what’s going on. During a couple of gun-fights, I actually looked down at my phone till the firing ended so I could actually see who shot whom and who died. Basically, the camera-work shifts from epic and grand(a-la-Gladiator) to quick and dirty(a-la-COPS or Amazing Race).
Overall:
The movie runs for about 2 and a half hours. During that time, It builds slowly to a crescendo and then in about 25 minutes, It’s over. Which is why when it ended, I was like’WTF?’. The story is good, but I wish the director had fleshed out some of the other characters a little more, especially Bale’s. The action sequences are plenty, and there’s lots of blood, but very little to take away from them. And after sleeping on the movie, I actually find there’s very little I fondly remember from the movie.
*Verdict:
*On a 5 point scale, this is a solid 3 in my books. Watch it for Johnny Depp. It’s great to see him walk like a normal man and not like a pirate with a bad combo-case of piles and diarrhea. Enjoy the nostalgia of the 30s and the performances of some of the supporting cast. But don’t expect too much else. And if you’ve got a queasy stomach, give it a skip. If the gore doesn’t get you, the dizzying camera work will.