Public Enemies
2009
**
Director: Michael Mann
Cast: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Billy Crudup, Stephen Dorff, Stephen Lang, Stephen Graham, David Wenham, Giovanni Ribisi, Branka Katic
Michael Mann's dry gangster drama is based on Bryan Burrough's book Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933–34. The film is set during the Great Depression and the Prohibition, not that you'll see any evidence of either one, and it tells the real-life story of two men: John Dillinger, the famed bank robber who became somewhat of a celebrity in the 1930s, and Melvin Purvis, the FBI chief who was out to catch him. Johnny Depp is known for his quirky characters, but his Dillinger is neither a charming rogue nor a scary sociopath. He's a bland thug with a big head, and his romance with Billie Frechette never catches fire. Bale's G-man, on the other hand, has two different expressions on his face: ruthless determination and disgust at his coworkers' incompetence. Sadly these two faces are difficult to tell apart. There are several extended shootouts, but they are very ordinary compared to the ones Mann staged in Heat.
