John’s Movie Musings

1930s Chicago would have been an interesting place to live.  Yeah, the Great Depression would have put a damper on things, but the city practically birthed Cops & Robbers.  Capone’s reign just ended, but Bonnie & Clyde, “Baby Face” Nelson, “Pretty Boy” Floyd, and John Dillinger faced off against J. Edgar Hoover and the newly formed FBI. My childhood free-time, thus formed.

Public Enemies takes a look at Dillinger’s story (Hollywood style) and does it with an interesting look.  I did some homework and the movie was shot with Sony F23 digital HD cameras.  Many scenes make heavy use of Shakey-Cam, which is annoying, but the movie looks like a Soap Opera.  That’s a horrible, undeserving thing to say since the movie is so much better than that, but it’s the best way to describe its “look” with words.  Shakey-Cam aside, it works well.

Public Enemies isn’t historically accurate by any means, but it does tell an interesting story.  It is a Cops & Robbers story, afterall.  Fortunately, Michael Mann doesn’t screw things up and paints the story in a way to highlight the times rather than the characters.  In fact, there is hardly any character setup – because it doesn’t need it.  “Pretty Boy” Floyd is on screen only for his death, yet with just his name, we know his significance to the story.  The character that gets the most development is Dillinger’s girlfriend.  It’s appropriate since she asks the “Are you good or bad?” question the audience asks of every antihero.

Different themes rise during the course of the movie.  My friend noticed the civil rights issues (or lack thereof) while I was intrigued by the celebrity status of criminals.  There are others, but with a movie titled Public Enemies and not John Dillinger, this is a good thing.  Make sure you see this with friends to see what you all get out of it.

In closing, the movie drags a bit, so might be best worth a rental.  But if you catch it on the big screen, you shouldn’t be disappointed.

Grade: B-