 Saturday, July 11, 2009
Mary Pickford Theater
Cathedral City, California
Review by Palm Springs Guides Movie Guide Nick Jones
“I like baseball, movies, good clothes, fast cars and you. What else do you need to know?” That statement sums up John Dillinger’s life, and Michael Mann’s latest film, “Public Enemies.” This true story of the legendary bank robber set in the ’30s has a lot going for it — great performances, a solid story and the film was shot in high-definition. But there just seems to be something missing. Perhaps it was a pacing problem, the film can be quite slow at times. But no matter, the film is saved by Johnny Depp’s performance.
The story starts in 1933 with Dillinger (Depp) being escorted to prison by his disguised partner, John “Red” Hamilton. The two break out the rest of his gang and head off the Chicago to start doing what they do best, rob banks.
Christian Bale as Melvin Purvis
Around this time, “Public Enemies” introduces Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale), the FBI agent who down and killed Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd. This lead to his promotion heading the hunt for Dillinger.
Marion Cotillard as Billie Frechett
As Dillinger and his crew are enjoying the profits from their most recent bank robbery, he meets Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard), his now-famous love interest. The rest of the movie is straightforward — they rob banks. And that is definitely one of the highlights of this film — no back story, nothing about Dillinger's childhood — it just tells the story people want to hear.
Depp’s performance is one of “Public Enemies” high points. He plays Dillinger from the heart. It is refreshing to see someone portray a gangster in his own way, and not like every other gangster in Hollywood’s history. He recreates Dillinger’s famous wit, charm and calculating personality perfectly.
Johnny Depp as John Dillinger
Everyone knows the story of Dillinger’s end, and it seems so did Dillinger. He has no retirement plan, nothing he is working toward, he lives in the moment, only for the moment. Like a dead man walking, he has accepted the fact that with all the heat on him and the obvious danger that comes with robbing banks, his career will be short lived and its end inevitable.
While it wasn’t apparent during or shortly after seeing “Public Enemies,” after a few days I realized the film was much better than I previously thought. It is a very good film indeed, but not great for reasons I can’t quite explain, but ”Public Enemies” is a very good movie nonetheless.
Desert Cities Guides Movie Guide Nick Jones rates “Public Enemies” four Palm Trees.
For more about “Public Enemies,” click here.
To find out where “Public Enemies” is showing in the desert, click here.
 Palm Springs Guides Movie Guide Nick Jones is a film critic and writer. Originally from the East Coast, Nick followed his family out to California and he now lives and reviews movies here in the Coachella Valley. Nick covers film events in Palm Springs and throughout the Coachella Valley.
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