Film Review: Public Enemies

Public EnemiesPublic Enemies (2009) is a crime and biographical drama film set in 1933. It features actor Johnny Depp as John Dillinger, French actress Marion Cotillard as Billie Frechette and Christian Bale as agent Melvin Purvis.John Dillinger is considered a bank robber and dangerous criminal by some and seen as a Robin Hood by others. This was because many American citizens blamed banks for the Great Depression of the 1930s and Dillinger only robbed banks.

During the film, we follow Dillinger's scams and disguises in his bank robberies and the evolution of the FBI to succeed in arresting the famous criminal through Agent Purvis' strategies. The romantic involvement between John Dillinger and Billie Frechette brings lightness and softness to the plot. The passion between the two, in addition to humanizing the character even more, indicates his greatest weakness.

Something that will surprise you is the obstinacy of the characters. Everyone is trying to succeed or save their lives and they spare no effort to do so. There is a contrast in moral and ethical values ​​and because of this you watch the film impartially, paying more attention to the unfolding of events than to a specific character. The actors' performance is very spontaneous and you develop a curiosity for each character that appears and the focus remains on the work as a whole.

Public Enemies features cinematography by Dante Spinotti and direction by Michael Mann. The duo has extensive cinematographic experience and together they worked on the epic "The Last of the Mohicans" (1992), with Daniel Day-Lewis and "The Informant" (1999), with Al Pacino and Russell Crowe. It's worth watching Public Enemies because the end is obvious but the plot was very well explored. You don't even notice the time. You simply get involved in the story and get the feeling that the ending is fair. The elements of the narrative provide an entertainment.