Movie Review: Johnny Depp Stars in Public Enemies

In Public Enemies, miraculously ageless baby-faced dreamboat weirdo Johnny Depp plays infamous antihero John Dillinger. Dillinger - a smooth-talking, sly gangster with a not so presumable concern for public opinion - leads a gang of crooks in and out of prisons as they manifest a spree of bank robberies across the Midwest.

Set in 1933, four years into the great depression (and the "golden age of bank robberies"), the film adequately chronicles Dillinger's relationships with not only his cronies and lover Evelyn “Billie” Frechette (Marion Cotillard), but also touches upon the friendships established in prison as well as his knack for charming the media and general public. As the film progresses, the once-beloved Dillinger finds himself becoming increasingly lonesome and continually running out of options as seemingly clueless J Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) and Pretty Boy Floyd capteur Melvin Pervis (Christian Bale) stay hot on his trail.

For me, this modern day shoot-em-up flick had all the tommy gun violence you'd expect, but the story of Dillinger's evil genius gets too lost in a Michael Bay-esque romantic overlay. Admittedly, I found myself nodding off within even the first twenty minutes. Running at a whopping two and a half hours, there is plenty of throw-away material that would have been better left for DVD extras if not simply left on the cutting room floor.

Unfortunately, even the superb acting of Depp and his supporting cast - including a small role by personal favorite Giovanni Ribisi as Alvin Karpis - and a well-compiled soundtrack couldn't save this drawn out gangster love story from me checking the time every half hour. One scene worth mentioning, however, comes when Dillinger's audacity is so cleverly displayed as the most wanted man in America unwaveringly explores the Chicago Police Department's Dillinger Squad in broad daylight. Another bit of magic is portrayed as one of Dillinger's henchmen goes down in a brief but powerful blaze of glory. Nevertheless, the camerawork often goes shaky for dramatic effect, ultimately leaving me squinting my eyes and turning my head.

The anti-climactic conclusion does display some ingenuity in finding parallels between Clark Gable's role in Manhattan Melodrama (1934) and Dillinger's personal life. But all in all, by the end the only thing I could think of was how jazzed I was about Wale's debut album dropping in September. Not to offer gratuitous press, but simply to give testament to how truly captivating the ending was.

That said, I would not consider the movie an absolute complete disappointment. There were indeed a number of instances of subtle humor that few others than Johnny Depp can truly offer in addition to Director Michael Mann’s successful attempt in capturing the early-30s era in all aspects of the film. Though despite being a bit hard to follow at times, I must say that I may have been much more enthralled had an hour or so been shaved off.