Public Enemies (12/8/2009)

Rated R for gangster violence and some language.

Directed by Michael Mann (Heat, Collateral and Miami Vice)

Starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale

Todd’s word: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Michael Mann and John Dillinger…Yeah Public Enemies is awesome!

Jonathan’s word: You just named an actor, a director, and a character in one congruent sentence…is that legal? Never mind…give us the synopsis.

Todd’s word: Set in 1933 (four years into the Great depression), bank robber John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) is making a killing robbing banks and other “rich” targets. He quickly becomes Public Enemy #1 in the eyes of the law, a folk hero in the eyes of the people and a companion in the eyes of Billie Frechette. J. Edgar Hoover assigns the Agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) with the task of bringing Dillinger to justice. Melvin tries to use new technology to hunt Dillinger, but realizes that he will have to use street tactics and brings in a group of specifically trained men to help.

Jonathan’s word: That about sums it up.

Todd’s word: How many bad films has Michael Mann made in the last twenty years?

Jonathan’s word: One…Miami Vice. And I mean the movie, not the show. And the movie wasn’t really even “bad” film-making… it just wasn’t my taste at all.

Todd’s word: Exactly. And while The Insider and Collateral were good…Public Enemies is a return to his best film ever…Heat.

Jonathan’s word: Oh man. You just opened up several doors with that sentence…

Let me start here: First, The Insider was just okay, and Collateral was excellent. But yes, Heat was not only Michael Mann’s best film, anyone who listens to our annual movie review podast knows that Heat is one of my favorite films of all time.

And that’s where I had a problem with Public Enemies. Public Enemies was really just Heat 2, if I may be so bold to insult the creativity of the amazing director Michael Mann.

Todd’s word: Instead of Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Val Kilmer, we get Johnny Depp and Christian Bale…and a whole bunch of actors you will probably recognize.

Jonathan’s Word: Mann’s films always bring in an all-star cast. Even for the small roles.

Todd’s word: I think you can make a pretty good case that Johnny Depp and Christian Bale are two of today’s best actors.

Jonathan’s word: Yeah, they are both pretty good on screen. They’re also both a little weird off-screen.

Todd’s word: And how is that unique? We’re talking Hollywood here.

Jonathan’s word: Good point.

Todd’s word: Like Heat there are some very cool shoot-out scenes and some very intense drama. First let’s talk shoot-outs. Visually there really isn’t anything new. The Tommy Guns are cool but it’s typical gun fire and blood. The thing that stands out is the sound. You can’t help but feel like you are in the thick of it. I wish I had a great sound system like someone I know.

Jonathan’s word: Ha…don’t be hatin!’ I have to agree with you about sound. He did it in Heat and he did it here again. If you’ve ever fired a gun, you know that it’s almost deafening. But most movies just provide pops for sound. In Heat, for the first time ever, we really got a sense of what a gunfight might sound like in the middle of a city. Dillinger did the same.

Todd’s word: Secondly, Mann gives us two very intense actors, one on each side of the law. And while the two don’t share a whole lot of screen time, there is no down time when it comes to the drama…again a page from Heat.

Jonathan’s Word: I just wish those were the only two pages from Heat. Unfortunately, any Heat fans will see similarity after similarity. In one of the earliest scenes of the film one of the “bad guys” gets too rough with a guard in Dillingers escape. That’s a page right out of the armored car robbery in Heat. Scene after scene we see it.

Sadly…I probably would have liked this film a whole lot more if I hadn’t seen Heat.

Todd’s word: I loved the complexity of the characters. Dillinger and Purvis have both likeable and disturbing qualities. In one scene Dillinger does everything he can to save his friend’s life and a moment later throws a man out of a moving vehicle. In a story where we should be able to clearly identify the good guys from the bad guys, often times those lines are blurred…like when an FBI agent abuses Billie or when Dillinger tells a bank customer to put his money back in his pocket.

My favorite scene takes place in a movie theater where the news reel shows a picture of Dillinger. The news man asks the movie goers to look to their left and then to their right, saying that Dillinger may be sitting right next to him. Dillinger just smiles…classic.

No doubt about it…Public Enemies is Theater Worthy.

Jonathan’s Word: If you haven’t seen Heat, probably so. But if you have…it was a little disappointing. But definitely worth the rent.

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
Use your discretion. Plenty of violence. There is one sex scene (no nudity) and one scene where Marion Cotillard is in a bath tub, but again not much is shown.

Our biggest concern with this film is that some people might not see Dillinger as the bad guy. His actions were wrong…and there were consequences to that. Those are conversations we need to have with our kids.

Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):

1. What are some of the messages or themes you observed in this movie?
2. How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
3. How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?