Movie Review
A Shoot-'Em-Up That Misfires
Marion Cotillard is a bright spot in the otherwise so-so "Public Enemies," with Johnny Depp.
(Universal Pictures)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
John Dillinger was an ugly, ruthless son of a gun, so naturally, Johnny Depp plays him as a quiet, shifty rogue who robs banks with scissorhands instead of submachine guns.
After gooping up "Finding Neverland," glowering vacantly through "Sweeney Todd" and annihilating every sprinkle of dignity in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," how can Depp be trusted with another larger-than-life character?
"Public Enemies" is a touch too remote. It's a straight-faced, no-nonsense, shoot-'em-up kind of movie.
Forget Depp for a second. "Public Enemies" looks great. It has that pristine Michael Mann sheen. Colors are crisp. Every shot has a twilighty varnish. Dapper men in dark suits wage war in the marbled halls of capitalism.
The FBI strikes back at Dillinger and his peers. Leading the manhunt is a rigid agent named Melvin Purvis, played by Christian Bale with an introversion even more pathological than Bruce Wayne's.
"Public Enemies" feels urgent, not epic. There's no excitement in the bank robbing, no joy over justice served or thwarted. Depp's Dillinger and Bale's Purvis are neither charming nor despicable, nor do they occupy that delicious gray area between the two.
The movie's faint pulse comes from French actress Marion Cotillard ("La Vie en Rose"), who plays Dillinger's girlfriend, Billie Frechette. Cotillard has a particularly affecting scene in which she is brutally interrogated by overzealous agents.
Cotillard is a tightly wound bundle of nerves in a movie that is otherwise unfeeling. Opposite her, Depp's brand of brooding wilts.
The story reaches its inevitable end outside the Biograph Theater, where Purvis and his agents position themselves for an ambush. There's nothing to feel once Dillinger hits the pavement. If the fire in Cotillard's eyes had been matched by Depp and Bale throughout, "Public Enemies" might've really popped. Instead, for two hours and 20 minutes, it simply goes click, click, click.
-- Dan Zak
Public Enemies R, 140 minutes Contains gangster violence and language. Area theaters.
