PUBLIC ENEMIES (2009)

PUBLIC ENEMIES is a collection of scenes concerning a character named John Dillinger, edited together. The total running time of all these scenes is two hours and fifteen minutes.

To call this a film isn’t really fair. There is no narrative drive. There is not an overall story. It is just a collection of scenes.

Rarely have I found watching a film as much of a chore as this was. I just did not care about what happened, and there was nothing on the screen to care about.

One of my tests of how a film works is how often I check my watch. Usually, I never do. Here, I was checking every ten minutes or so. Twenty minutes in, I knew I was in trouble.

The problem lies with the screenplay, if there even was one. We first meet Dillinger in the middle of his crime spree. I guess they expect the audience to be as familiar with the story as those back in the 30’s.

I watched a documentary on films of the 1930’s last night. With all the talk in that documentary about THE ROARING TWENTIES, SCARFANCE and PUBLIC ENEMY, maybe I just expected more. I would have rather have seen a full version of Dillinger’s life rather than just this take on his later years.

Johnny Depp is fine in the lead, but has little to do. Not to get into gossip, but a recent news report stated that he and director Michael Mann weren't even speaking on the set, as Depp was unhappy with the way Mann was shooting. You can kind of see that disconnect in the film.

Christian Bale is similarly wasted. It is good that he has a role that doesn’t require him to growl, but he isn’t required to do much of anything. Marion Cotillard may not have much of a stateside career if this film is any indication. She barely registers on screen.

There are moments where you remember this is the Michael Mann of HEAT. There is an early shootout in an apple orchard. And, the film starts to come alive with the Biograph Theatre finale. But that is over two hours in.

Another scene, a lengthy chase through the woods at night that is shot in such darkness, you don’t know who is who, is just poorly realized.

Maybe it is time for someone to take Mann’s handheld cameras away. There comes a point where a shaky camera stops being a style decision and instead is just unprofessional. One shot with Depp and Cotillard dancing back and forth, with the bouncing camera, just made me nauseous.

Skip this one. Or if you must see a Dillinger story, go with the John Milius film DILLINGER with Warren Oates. While not a great film, it is better than this version.