Public Enemies

Public Enemies has all the makings of a Michael Mann classic; a mega watt star, intense subject matter, and a chance for him to exercise his innovative filming prowess, and yet, something's missing. Something that I just could not put my finger on initially....at least, not until I saw The Hurt Locker the next night, and remembered what a real, emotionally involving thriller looked/felt like.

Mann's made all the same mistakes here that he made with Miami Vice a few years back - he's told a cool, detached story that really fails to draw the audience in at all , moreover, the film doesn't even seem to try to generate emotional stake. Mann is so idiosyncratic, so obsessed with detail and his film's visual palette that I worry he loses tract of the stories real draw - the human element. Mann's best films, Heat, The Insider, Collateral, and Thief are all fueled by the characters's tangible conflicts, and allow the audience to invest something of consequence into the movie.

As in Miami Vice, Mann fails to do this. Instead, he opts for focus on the para ordinance and tactical maneuvers of the cops and criminals. He orchestrates beautiful set pieces, chooses wonderful music, and seems to have nailed his sense of pacing....but he forgot the two things that really matter; story and character.

I will say this; by sheer force of talent, Marion Contillard is award-worthy. She dominates the movie, and that includes Depp. Her natural beauty, coupled with her vulnerability and toughness make for a very strong female character. It's a shame that she's short-changed by the script.

Depp, on the other hand, is quietly reserved. A smoldering performance that never really amounts to anything memorable. He has a few nice scenes, but Contillard blows him off the screen.

Bale is Bale. I'm tired of his pensive, 'I'm so intense the veins are going to pop of out my face,' act. He should do a comedy. He should do three.

I would like to say that Stephen Lang, with three minutes of screen time, almost steals the entire film. His final scene, with Contillard, is the film's best and most powerful.

You may read this review and assume that I disliked the movie. That's not the case. Michael Mann is my favorite director, period. I expect a lot of his films and Public Enemies follows Miami Vice down the slight disappointment path. If you like beautiful, impressive filmmaking, see this.