Public Enemies
2009 · Directed by Michael Mann
Original language: English
- crime
- history
- drama
The story
Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger's charm and audacity endear him to much of America's downtrodden public, but he's also a thorn in the side of J. Edgar Hoover and the fledgling FBI. Desperate to capture the elusive outlaw, Hoover makes Dillinger his first Public Enemy Number One and assigns his top agent, Melvin Purvis, the task of bringing him in dead or alive.
What it’s like
Cold blue night streets and the hard amber of tungsten-lit banks, shot on digital with Michael Mann's restless handheld camera hunting through crowds and into dim rooms. The palette runs steel, slate and sepia, and the soundscape is built from gunfire cracks, car engines, hushed jazz standards and a few stark pulses of score that make the silence afterward feel heavier. Mann prizes realism over nostalgia: the 1930s Midwest looks lived-in and a little grimy, with wet pavement, dusty roads and smoky interiors. Pacing is deliberate, with long stretches of watchful waiting and surveillance punctuated by sudden, loud bursts of violence that land hard and fast. Its intensity is high: frequent gunfights, a few deaths shown bluntly, some brief gore and tense prison-escape sequences, with dread more often than cruelty. The emotional register is cool and melancholy, following two men shaped by obsession, one a charismatic outlaw who lives loudly and the other a methodical agent who grows colder as the chase consumes him, with a romance that flickers warmly against the dark. Best for viewers who want a moody, meticulous crime film for a late night, and who don't mind violence in exchange for atmosphere.
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