Public Enemies
I finally got around to watching Public Enemies, and can't help feeling a bit let down. I love Michael Mann, Christian Bale, and Johnny Depp, but sadly they didn't add up to that great of a movie. If you're curious as to why I say that, look below the cut!
Michael Mann is one of my favorite directors, and if there's one thing he's great at filming, it's people shooting at each other. Every action scene in Public Enemies looks great. In fact, a lot of the more dramatic scenes in the movie also gripped my attention momentarily. The problem is that after they're all put together, I'm not sure what to make of the full picture. Curiously, the film starts mid-stream, with a chaotic and violent prison escape sequence. If you didn't know anything about Derringer coming into this film, then you have no idea why he's there in the first place. The scene is exciting, but I felt like I was already missing something. Depp (as Derringer) looks like he's seriously affected when some (unidentified) character dies during the escape, but we haven't been introduced to him yet, so it's anybody's guess.
This scene, as well as several other that depict Derringer's criminal exploits, certainly doesn't make it look like he's enjoying himself. But that made me wonder why he's doing any of it to begin with. Not much time is devoted to how or why he started robbing banks, or to Derringer's public fame and celebrity status. For the first half, we just watch the escalating cat and mouse game as the FBI try to increase their powers in order to bring him to justice. It's very procedural, and not particularly interesting.
About Mid-way through the film, Depp's character begins to get more fleshed-out (Unlike Bale's FBI agent, who stays pretty flat and generic through the whole movie). He starts a romantic relationship with an innocent young woman who he seems to prefer to bank-robbing, and the film finally allows us to get inside his head, to a degree. Depp's Derringer seems to be in love with his own fantasy of his legend and how it will play out. He clearly feels like he's uncatchable, and seems to believe that he can simultaneously rob banks forever and escape with his new love to a care-free life on some island somewhere. To this degree, he's an intriguing character. Depp's a fine actor, so his performance isn't bad by any stretch. Still, there's only so much he can really add to this script. While I was very excited to see Depp and Bale confront each other in a movie, the relationship between their characters stays pretty one-dimensional.
If for some reason you don't know what happened to Derringer in real life, and want to be surprised, stop reading now.
The mood of the film becomes heavier, and the action scenes more affecting as we see Derringer's associates fall away from him. Those who aren't gunned down by the FBI begin to distance themselves from him as his notoriety begins to threaten their business. The most memorable scene in the film comes when Derringer sees "Manhattan Melodrama" shortly before being gunned down. Depp's reaction to the film is actually pretty fun to watch, and the parallels to Derringer's own life and death are a bit obvious, but still kind of interesting to note.
His death scene, however, adds another question mark to the film. It seems like Mann wants us to pity Derringer, but I'm not really sure why. I guess the idea is that despite all the deaths he caused, the fact that he was probably about to give it up (only because he knew he would be caught) means that the cops shouldn't have killed him. That's a conclusion I can't really buy, but it's the only one I can really come up with after seeing Public Enemies. Michael Mann fanatics (like me) will still want to see it, as will those who have a historical interest in the plot. Everyone else isn't really missing much.
Michael Mann is one of my favorite directors, and if there's one thing he's great at filming, it's people shooting at each other. Every action scene in Public Enemies looks great. In fact, a lot of the more dramatic scenes in the movie also gripped my attention momentarily. The problem is that after they're all put together, I'm not sure what to make of the full picture. Curiously, the film starts mid-stream, with a chaotic and violent prison escape sequence. If you didn't know anything about Derringer coming into this film, then you have no idea why he's there in the first place. The scene is exciting, but I felt like I was already missing something. Depp (as Derringer) looks like he's seriously affected when some (unidentified) character dies during the escape, but we haven't been introduced to him yet, so it's anybody's guess.
This scene, as well as several other that depict Derringer's criminal exploits, certainly doesn't make it look like he's enjoying himself. But that made me wonder why he's doing any of it to begin with. Not much time is devoted to how or why he started robbing banks, or to Derringer's public fame and celebrity status. For the first half, we just watch the escalating cat and mouse game as the FBI try to increase their powers in order to bring him to justice. It's very procedural, and not particularly interesting.
About Mid-way through the film, Depp's character begins to get more fleshed-out (Unlike Bale's FBI agent, who stays pretty flat and generic through the whole movie). He starts a romantic relationship with an innocent young woman who he seems to prefer to bank-robbing, and the film finally allows us to get inside his head, to a degree. Depp's Derringer seems to be in love with his own fantasy of his legend and how it will play out. He clearly feels like he's uncatchable, and seems to believe that he can simultaneously rob banks forever and escape with his new love to a care-free life on some island somewhere. To this degree, he's an intriguing character. Depp's a fine actor, so his performance isn't bad by any stretch. Still, there's only so much he can really add to this script. While I was very excited to see Depp and Bale confront each other in a movie, the relationship between their characters stays pretty one-dimensional.
If for some reason you don't know what happened to Derringer in real life, and want to be surprised, stop reading now.
The mood of the film becomes heavier, and the action scenes more affecting as we see Derringer's associates fall away from him. Those who aren't gunned down by the FBI begin to distance themselves from him as his notoriety begins to threaten their business. The most memorable scene in the film comes when Derringer sees "Manhattan Melodrama" shortly before being gunned down. Depp's reaction to the film is actually pretty fun to watch, and the parallels to Derringer's own life and death are a bit obvious, but still kind of interesting to note.
His death scene, however, adds another question mark to the film. It seems like Mann wants us to pity Derringer, but I'm not really sure why. I guess the idea is that despite all the deaths he caused, the fact that he was probably about to give it up (only because he knew he would be caught) means that the cops shouldn't have killed him. That's a conclusion I can't really buy, but it's the only one I can really come up with after seeing Public Enemies. Michael Mann fanatics (like me) will still want to see it, as will those who have a historical interest in the plot. Everyone else isn't really missing much.