Public Enemies

Mann tackles the events leading up to Dillinger’s final days with near accuracy, giving the gangster a personality missing in previous attempts by other production companies. Was Dillinger a caring man who became a bank-robbing folk hero who only took from the rich, or was he someone who was cold and calculating on a journey down the path of destruction?

I found that the film depicted two sides. First showing Dillinger’s soft side in his relationship with Billie Frechette (Cotillard), having dreams of going straight ... and then you see him shooting it out with the law from a cabin in the woods with no mercy for the law-makers, so there is a case for both sides.

In this production there is good acting and then there is standout performances. Billy Crudup made an excellent J. Edgar Hoover, the devious attention-getter who took all the credit for Pervis’s dangerous work. I also liked Cotillard in the role of Billie, Dillinger’s timid lover who turns into a tough moll.

Then there is Stephen Graham as the maniacal Baby Face Nelson who loved to show off his automatic weapon by shooting into everything and everyone around him. Graham brings life (and death) to Nelson as he rampages in nearly every scene in which he appears.

But, the standout performances come from Branka Katic as Anna Sage, the infamous lady in red who points out Dillinger during his final moments. She depicts the emotional roller coaster Anna goes through before she gives up her loyalty to Dillinger so she won’t get deported. And, I would be remiss in not pointing out the great job by Johnny Depp who makes Dillinger a real person with a personality. Someone who may have been this nice guy, gone bad.

The film is not without flaws however, although few, they are distracting. Taking some movie magic license, Dillinger is shown walking into the FBI Chicago bureau while agents are huddled around a radio listening to a baseball game. Um, Sure! The film runs about two and a half hours, but I still would have liked to see more of the robberies and the relationship between Dillinger and Billie. I also don’t think Billie was fleshed out enough, especially since she goes from innocent to moll in what seemed a short period of time.

Now don’t think I am getting offbeat here, but the sound guy should get an award. The popping of guns were very realistic, the breaking of glass from the bullets are cringing, and the dialogue still understandable ... it was an amazing feat of sound during the shoot-out at the cabin in the woods.

Well there you have it. The film will make it to classic and get nominated for many awards.

FINAL ANALYSIS: Public Enemies is a realistic look at some dastardly criminal times.