Public Enemies (2009)

The Feds try to take down notorious American gangsters John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd during a booming crime wave in the 1930s.

Director:

Michael Mann

Writers:

Ronan Bennett (screenplay), Michael Mann (screenplay),

Stars:

James Russo, David Wenham, Johnny Depp

1 win & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Russo	...	Walter Dietrich
David Wenham	...	Harry 'Pete' Pierpont
Christian Stolte	...	Charles Makley
Jason Clarke	...	'Red' Hamilton
Johnny Depp	...	John Dillinger
John Judd	...	Turnkey
Stephen Dorff	...	Homer Van Meter
Michael Vieau	...	Ed Shouse
John Kishline	...	Guard Dainard
Wesley Walker	...	Jim Leslie
John Scherp	...	Earl Adams
Elena Kenney	...	Viola Norris
William Nero Jr.	...	Toddler on Farm
Channing Tatum	...	Pretty Boy Floyd
Christian Bale	...	Melvin Purvis

Storyline

This is the story of the last few years of the notorious bank robber John Dillinger. He loved what he did and could imagine little else that would make him happier. Living openly in 1930s Chicago, he had the run of the city with little fear of reprisals from the authorities. It's there that he meets Billie Frechette with whom he falls deeply in love. In parallel we meet Melvin Purvis, the FBI agent who would eventually track Dillinger down. The FBI was is in its early days and Director J. Edgar Hoover was keen to promote the clean cut image that so dominated the organization through his lifetime. Purvis realizes that if he is going to get Dillinger, he will have to use street tactics and imports appropriate men with police training. Dillinger is eventually betrayed by an acquaintance who tells the authorities just where to find him on a given night.

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Plot Keywords:

fbi | 1930s | bank | bank robber | gang | 

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Taglines:

America's Most Wanted

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for gangster violence and some language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Spain] Official site [France]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 July 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Enemigos públicos

Filming Locations:

Indiana Dunes State Park, Chesterton, Indiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,048,359 (UK) (10 July 2009)

Gross:

$97,030,725 (USA) (28 August 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Relativity Media, Forward Pass

Technical Specs

Runtime:

140 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the movie, John Dillinger and other bank robbers are seen having friendly relations with the Chicago mobsters. Specifically with Phillip D'Andrea, a top lieutenant in the Al Capone mob. In real life, Al Capone was said to admire bank robbers and would often allow bandits safe haven in Chicago under the mob's protection. However, as also shown in the movie, after Frank Nitti took over the mob following Al Capone's conviction for tax evasion, he cut off such resources to outlaws like Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and Alvin Carpis because of the "heat" that was being brought down on the mobs because of the FBI's furious hunt for these men.

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Goofs

Alvin Carpis is shown in the film recommending attorney Louis Piquett to John Dillinger while in a nightclub. Crown Point trusty Sam Cahoon passed one of Piquett's business cards to Dillinger while the famed outlaw was being jailed at Crown Point. The card getting into Cahoon's hands first was arranged by the East Chicago mob.

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Quotes

[Agents Baum and Purvis are briefing the Chicago field agents]
Agent Carter Baum: According to the bank teller Barbara Patzke, this is John Dillinger's coat. It's made by Shragge-Quality out of St. Louis. Price: $35 dollars. Windproof, 32 ounce wool. Top stitching.
Melvin Purvis: [nods approvingly] Thank you, Agent Baum.
[Baum steps aside]
Melvin Purvis: Agents in our offices across the country are identifying every store in the United States that sold this overcoat. Then, we will cross-reference every Dillinger associate, in locales where that ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The title of the movie is not shown until the end credits.

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Connections

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: The Hurt Locker/My Sister's Keeper/Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Chicago Shake"
(2009)
Written by Don Nelson, Harry Garfield, Kevin Kaska, Bruce Fowler (as Bruce L. Fowler)
Performed by The Bruce Fowler Big Band

User Reviews

John Dillinger- Public Enemy #1

The year is 1933, it's the Great Depression. A time for the desperate to do the unthinkable. Crime was on the rise and people were suffering. For John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) it was a time of infinite possibilities and opportunities. To combat the sharp incline in rampant criminal activity, J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) forms the FBI, led by Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale). Together they target Dillinger as public enemy number one. Relying on new methods of intelligence gathering (such as tracking the purchase location of a coat or recording phone conversations), the firepower of trained gunmen, and his own relentless nature, Purvis gets closer and closer to Dillinger and company.

"I like baseball, movies, good clothes, fast cars... and you. What else do you need to know?" - John Dillinger. Johnny Depp IS John Dillinger. He's perfect for the role. The cool, confident and almost cocky nature of the character is really portrayed on screen (such as bragging to reporters about his bank jobs and teasing Purvis and agents who are after him). It's a look of how a man lived and succeeded in a hard time. Dillinger was a man that lived in the moment as only a man in the depression could. From the worlds on John Dillinger, "I'm to busy having fun today to even think about tomorrow." Who knows what tomorrow might bring? Bale also succeeds in his role and is a solid counterpart against Depp. It works well having two top, well known actors opposing each other on screen.

The film is directed by Michael Mann who brought us such films as Heat, The Insider, and Collateral and he adds another good film to his resume with this one. The action sequences, bank heists, and shootouts in this film are probably the biggest highlights. After all, this is from the same guy who gave us one of the most famous and arguably the best shootout of all time in Heat. The sequences are cool, slick, and gritty. Excellence at it's best. (I have to throw in a note of praise for the superb shootout at the Little Bohemia lodge, which was an extremely impressive scene)

The cat and mouse aspect makes it intriguing, but I think more could have been added to it. It just feels as if something was missing. Much of the film focuses on the love story between Dillinger and Billie Frechette (Marion Cottillard) It's also interesting to see the other gangsters of this time and how they relate to Dillinger and the criminal world.

Much has been made of Public Enemies being filmed on HD video, mostly complaints. I must say that at times, the picture looked amazing. The night sequences, especially looked beautifully slick and realistic. I loved the cinematography here. The cars, headlights, street lights, and everything looked fantastic. Other times, it doesn't look as good. It just felt as if something didn't look right. I'm not sure what to think about this.

One problem I had with this film would have to be the lack of character depth in many of the characters. At times, it seems as if we are expected to know and understand the characters before going to see the film because it is a real life story. But as a film, it could have developed the characters more to help us (and those who know nothing about Dillinger, his life, or Purvis and the FBI) understand them better. Another problem was some of the historical inaccuracies. Many things portrayed in the film, do not happen as they did in real life. Many sequences are just out of order. I know the filmmakers had to know about this and just tried to work it in as best as they could. It's not a documentary, it's a movie.

I really enjoyed Public Enemies. It's a solid crime drama and a good summer film. I understand expectations were through the roof, but that's a little hard to ask for. It's a really good film, but not quite a great one... The action is fun, the story is interesting. Maybe instead of being a very good film, it could have became a really great film if more was put into the characters? I'm not sure. It just felt as if something were missing. But who can knock a film for still being good?