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MOVIES
I'll admit, it's not without flaws.
Joyce: Well, I didn't like Road to Perdition much and I really didn't like this one. I thought Michael Mann failed to achieve what he set out to do and made a boring series of gun fights instead of much insight.
Rico: John Dillinger was a ruthless killer, but at the time he was robbing banks, the depression atmosphere of the country was such that he became a cheered hero.
He didn't give to the poor like Robin Hood - he and his gang kept what they took. I was surprised that he worked with so many bad guys.
Featured in the film are Baby Face Nelson and Alvin Karpis, though they weren't very well introduced. Things happen so fast it's difficult to keep up.
Joyce: No one in the film, in my estimation, was at all sympathetic except Dillinger's beautiful and apparently naive lover Billie Frechette, played wonderfully by Marion Cotillard. As a matter of fact, I felt the only scenes worth their salt were between Depp and Cotillard. She's the only one I could even begin to identify with.
Rico: Cotillard is the only Academy Award winner in the bunch, and does a great job of looking good as the gun moll, unlike her award winning performance as Edith Piaf. She is a welcome piece of eye-candy.
Director Michael Mann is a stickler for detail and does a nice job of creating the 30's; set, costumes and atmosphere. But it certainly isn't as pretty as the recent "Chéri".
Joyce: The supporting cast is very strong. But it is very hard to get any feeling for who they were, except rotten, bloodthirsty killers.
Rico: Depp is pretty much Depp, and Christopher Bale was a bit disappointing with his mumbling, lisping Melvin Purvis. They got his performance all wrong.
Billy Crudup was interesting as J. Edgar Hoover forming the F.B.I. at that time and starting the designation of Public Enemy #1.
I was a little disappointed by several things but all in all, I liked the film.
Joyce: the other major fault is that Mann's style in this film, is not only fast paced, hard hitting but almost all the scenes are intensely close up. So close it almost made me dizzy and made it hard distinguish one bad guy from another. Mann really missed on this one.
Rico: I give it *** and a Green light
R for gangster violence and some language.
Joyce: **
Film: Public Enemies
Director: Michael Mann
Cast Includes: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Billy Crudup, Stephen Dorff, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, Matt Craven, Shawn Hatosy, Peter Gerety
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Running Time: 2:23
Rated: R
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