I will let my words speak for themselves.
Z
PUBLIC ENEMIES (2009) 1 ½ stars out of 4. Starring Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cottilard, Billy Crudup, Jason Clark, James Russo, Stephen Dorff, Channing Tatum, Rory Cochrane, Giovanni Ribisi, Stephen Lang, Matt Craven, Shawn Hatosy and Peter Gerety. Screenplay by Ronan Bennett, Michael Mann and Ann Biderman. Directed by Michael Mann. Rated: R. Running time: Approx: 140 mins.
The simplest way to describe "Public Enemies" is that it fails to engage or involve the audience.
This Depression-era drama is filled with sound and fury, but it lacks substance and atmosphere.
Director Michael Mann, who has done much better work, seems to be attempting to make an allegorical statement or contemporary comparison, but both are lost in the rat-a-tat-tat of gunfire and the shallow attempts at characterization.
The movie, at about two hours and 20 minutes, badly needs trimmed. It lacks pacing and pizzazz.
At its core, "Public Enemies" is a big-budgeted whale of a gangster film. Warner Bros. did it faster, better and at about an hour shorter in the 1930s.
Unlike "Bonnie and Clyde," which used the Depression as a social backdrop for the duo's robberies and their allure as folk heroes, "Public Enemies" is content to present John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) and his cohorts as crooks who rob banks for a living.
Even the short scene in which Depp's Dillinger tells a customer to keep his money fails to carry the same weight and cultural significance as a similar sequence in "Bonnie and Clyde."
The film lacks the hardscrabble feel of the Depression era. It is almost as though that economic calamity bypassed the Midwest.
Depp's performance also seems a handicap. His Dillinger is too cool, too lacking in charisma. Though he shows some outbursts, Depp's portrayal lacks that force of nature, larger-than-life persona called for in the role.
Christian Bale as FBI agent Melvin Purvis, in charge of hunting down Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and the other miscreants, also plays his character in a manner that is too low-key.
Both men captured the public's imagination, yet as they are portrayed in "Public Enemies," it is difficult to fathom how.
Considering that Dillinger operated throughout the Midwest, including Indiana, "Public Enemies" looks generic.
Part of the movie was shot in Crown Point, but it is difficult to discern it from any of the other locations. The film lacks a sense of place.
At the promotional screening, the film's colors appeared dulled and the audio track was muddy; at times it was hard to pick up what the characters were saying.
"Public Enemies" had the potential of being one of the best adult films of the summer season. However, Mann's would-be gangster saga lacks personality. It fails to exploit its topic and its first-rate cast. And that is a crime.
Bob Bloom is the film critic and DVD reviewer at the Journal & Courier in Lafayette, Ind., and reviews DVDs for Gannett ContentOne. He can be reached by e-mail at bbloom@jconline.com or at bloomjc@yahoo.com. Bloom's reviews also can be found at the Journal & Courier Web site: www.jconline.com
Other reviews by Bloom can be found at the Rottentomatoes Web site: www.rottentomatoes.com
Z
PUBLIC ENEMIES (2009) 1 ½ stars out of 4. Starring Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cottilard, Billy Crudup, Jason Clark, James Russo, Stephen Dorff, Channing Tatum, Rory Cochrane, Giovanni Ribisi, Stephen Lang, Matt Craven, Shawn Hatosy and Peter Gerety. Screenplay by Ronan Bennett, Michael Mann and Ann Biderman. Directed by Michael Mann. Rated: R. Running time: Approx: 140 mins.
The simplest way to describe "Public Enemies" is that it fails to engage or involve the audience.
This Depression-era drama is filled with sound and fury, but it lacks substance and atmosphere.
Director Michael Mann, who has done much better work, seems to be attempting to make an allegorical statement or contemporary comparison, but both are lost in the rat-a-tat-tat of gunfire and the shallow attempts at characterization.
The movie, at about two hours and 20 minutes, badly needs trimmed. It lacks pacing and pizzazz.
At its core, "Public Enemies" is a big-budgeted whale of a gangster film. Warner Bros. did it faster, better and at about an hour shorter in the 1930s.
Unlike "Bonnie and Clyde," which used the Depression as a social backdrop for the duo's robberies and their allure as folk heroes, "Public Enemies" is content to present John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) and his cohorts as crooks who rob banks for a living.
Even the short scene in which Depp's Dillinger tells a customer to keep his money fails to carry the same weight and cultural significance as a similar sequence in "Bonnie and Clyde."
The film lacks the hardscrabble feel of the Depression era. It is almost as though that economic calamity bypassed the Midwest.
Depp's performance also seems a handicap. His Dillinger is too cool, too lacking in charisma. Though he shows some outbursts, Depp's portrayal lacks that force of nature, larger-than-life persona called for in the role.
Christian Bale as FBI agent Melvin Purvis, in charge of hunting down Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and the other miscreants, also plays his character in a manner that is too low-key.
Both men captured the public's imagination, yet as they are portrayed in "Public Enemies," it is difficult to fathom how.
Considering that Dillinger operated throughout the Midwest, including Indiana, "Public Enemies" looks generic.
Part of the movie was shot in Crown Point, but it is difficult to discern it from any of the other locations. The film lacks a sense of place.
At the promotional screening, the film's colors appeared dulled and the audio track was muddy; at times it was hard to pick up what the characters were saying.
"Public Enemies" had the potential of being one of the best adult films of the summer season. However, Mann's would-be gangster saga lacks personality. It fails to exploit its topic and its first-rate cast. And that is a crime.
Bob Bloom is the film critic and DVD reviewer at the Journal & Courier in Lafayette, Ind., and reviews DVDs for Gannett ContentOne. He can be reached by e-mail at bbloom@jconline.com or at bloomjc@yahoo.com. Bloom's reviews also can be found at the Journal & Courier Web site: www.jconline.com
Other reviews by Bloom can be found at the Rottentomatoes Web site: www.rottentomatoes.com
