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

There is a scene where J. Edgar Hoover is giving out Junior G Man Badges to young men who may enter into law enforcement at some point. Al Pacino asks Tone Loc "What Do You Want For That, A Junior G Man Badge," in Michael Mann's classic Heat.

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Goofs

John Dillinger turns on an early Zenith table top radio and audio is immediately heard. Until the introduction of solid state technology in the 1960s, all tube radios took five or six seconds to warm up before audio was heard.

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Quotes

J. Edgar Hoover: John Dillinger held up a bank for $74,000 while you failed to arrest Nelson.
Melvin Purvis: Sir, I take full responsibility. And I would like to make a request. That we transfer men with special qualifications to augment the staff here in Chicago. There are some former Texas and Oklahoma lawmen currently with the Bureau in Dallas.
J. Edgar Hoover: I thought you understood what I'm building. A modern force of professional young men of the best sort.
Melvin Purvis: I'm afraid our type cannot get the job done.
J. Edgar Hoover: Excuse me, I cannot hear you.
Melvin Purvis: Our...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

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

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Connections

References Little Miss Marker (1934)

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Soundtracks

"Bye Bye Blackbird"
(1926)
Music by Ray Henderson
Lyrics by Mort Dixon
Produced by Elliot Goldenthal, Matthias Gohl (as Teese Gohl)
Performed by Diana Krall twice
Courtesy of Verve Records

User Reviews

Not one of Mann's best, but still...

Whenever a Michael Mann movie comes out, I am besieged by expectations. This is one director whose style I seem to consistently like. The Insider, Heat, Collateral, The Last of the Mohicans, and yes.. I LOVED Miami Vice the movie (despite the many negative reviews it seemed to have got). So, when Public Enemies came out, and seeing Mann team up with Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, I knew I could not miss this. However, probably because of the high standards he has set for himself, I was a little disappointed with this.

The story is about a gangster bank robber, John Dillinger(Johnny Depp), back in the '30's, who pulled off a couple of daring heists and prison breaks. He was generally considered a hero among the public, as this was during the years of the great depression and Dillinger was seen as someone who steals from the rich man. A fledging FBI, led by the peerless J. Edgar Hoover, decide to hunt him down so that they can grow the organization, and name him Public Enemy Number 1. Melvin Purvis(Christian Bale) is assigned the task of leading this group of agents.

Johnny Depp is as usual great, but you get a feeling he would have been even better if the script had given enough scope to explore the character of Dillinger. The same goes with his love interest, played by Marillon Cotillard. Again, a wonderful actress, but at times the love story seemed forced into the story. Despite this, they have great chemistry.

Which brings me to Christian Bale. This is an actor who has so much more to offer than the half baked roles he has been getting this year. You get a feeling this year that he is being offered big movies which don't give him a character he can bite his teeth into. First there was Terminator Salvation, and now this. In both, his character never really seemed into the movie as compared to the others. I'm waiting to see a movie again where he will assert himself.

Despite the flaws, this is still a good movie from Mann. Just don't go in expecting it to out do his best.