Whether or not some aspects of John Dillinger's life have been enhanced for the screen and for good narrative, I left Public Enemies with one word in my mind - meh.
It's the 1930s and robbing banks is all the rage. Dillinger (Johnny Depp) is something of an expert in that regard and at one point in the film says it takes him a minute and a half to get the job done.
Fair enough. The fact I find it hard to believe Dillinger would give a glib interview to a host of reporters while on his way to a jail cell can go to the side. It may have happened but you really don't get a sense for who Dillinger was.
Similarly outrageous is the thought that he could wander into the 'Dillinger Division' of the Chicago police and go completely un-noticed. It did make for one of only a few highlights in an overall disppointing film.
Director Michael Mann, who seems to still be living off the reputation for the gripping Heat, can take some of the blame. The shaky camera work is so 2005 and adds nothing.
The casting is questionable. Depp has proven he can be just about anyone. Christian Bale is boring and I don't think it is his character Melvin Purvis. I'm not from the 30s but I couldn't understand why Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard) was in love with Dillinger when he treated her like a possession.
There were some excellent moments, including the aforementioned Dillinger Division scene, some of the gunfights and the script also had some humour.
In the end, why should we care about Dillinger? We only got the sense that he was a smug, confident criminal. As I said at the start. Meh. A 5.5 out of 10.
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