Now, 'Public Enemies' is not the sort of movie everyone would enjoy. It is an experimental movie - at least I've not seen this docu-drama style of movie making being attempted at this scale - and as with all experiments, you need a little patience and an open mind to appreciate the freshness that it brings to the movie watching experience.The movie was shot with a high definition hand camera and this technique gives the whole movie a touch of understated realism. It gives the viewer the feeling as if he/she were participating or observing the events in real life. I distinctly remember the scene wherein Dillinger is arrested and brought to the Lake County jail in Indiana. A hastily arranged press conference is shown. As you watch people hustling in and out of the frame, you feel as if it were an amateur video shot at home - this is not to suggest that camera work is shoddy, instead, the skillfully handled handycam jerks serve to enhance the realism of the scene.
With such camera technique, the director is forced to dispose off with familiar cinematic crutches like background music and over the top acting, because they'd appear very tacky. Hence, silence is used as a tool to enhance the dramatic effect of many scenes. In fact, this movie must rank as one of the quitest movies I've seen. There is a sense of peaceful silence pervading most scenes, there are no unnecessary noises made by the cast or the crew. Background music is used sparingly and is usually heard as a tool for scene tranisitions.
With such a bare canvas, the actors' performances come under intense scrutiny. Bad actors are thoroughly exposed. The only way to retain the audience's interest is by breathing life into the movie's characters. Johnny Depp is outstanding as John Dillinger. He makes the role his own. He puts up a thoroughly convincing act as the bitter and ambitious Dillinger who is out to conquer the world, knowingly mindless of the consequences. The camera puts intense pressure on Johnny Depp; in many frames, the entire drama rests on Johnny Depp's expressions and he carries them off with aplomb. Kudos to the performer. On the same note, the French actress, Marion Cotillard has put in a brilliant performance as Dillinger's girlfriend, Billie Frechette. The other star of the movie, Christian Bale, puts in an effecient performance as Agent Purvis of the FBI.
Many people in the theater, who watched the movie with me, were restless and visibly bored. If you sit back with your pop corn and expect to be entertained over the din of your phone and text messaging, the movie won't work. You will have to do some prep before hand by reading about Dillinger to appreciate the context of the movie and then keep your mind and ears open during the show to figure out what the characters are saying. There are many superb lines throughout the movie, sample this -
Dillinger to Billie: "I like baseball, movies, good clothes, fast cars, whiskey, and you... what else you need to know? "
John 'Red' Hamilton: "We don't work with people we don't know. And you don't work when your desperate. Walter Dietrich. Remember that?
John Dillinger: Walter forgot. When your desperate, that's when you got no choice.
All in all, a nice movie. Wouldn't mind catching it on TV or DVD another time. Cheers.
Find below some cool Dillinger videos I found on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz0jtGGO7VE
