Public Enemies - Grading and Discussion (Johnny Depp, Christian Bale)

[LutherSloan]

Re: Public Enemies - Grading and Discussion (Johnny Depp, Christian Ba

I liked this movie, but I had a lot of mixed feelings. Most of it had to do with the fact that there was zero characterization beyond Dillinger. His girlfriend, Purvis, and the other gangsters are basically just decorations that have little to do. I can almost see why there was so little advertising that Christian Bale was in this movie, because his part (in this movie anyway) could have been played by someone else.

There isn't really the sense of a true rivalry between Dillinger and Purvis, like in Heat, a far better movie by Michael Mann with DeNiro and Pacino.

I agree that there was only a tiny bit of mention of the fact that Dillinger WAS seen as a Robin Hood-esque figure at the time, since so many people had just lost their entire savings to banks that went under before they got their own money out. This was hinted at during the scene where Dillinger, under arrest, was driven through town on the way to (I believe) the courthouse.

 

[Kirk's_Tights]

Re: Public Enemies - Grading and Discussion (Johnny Depp, Christian Ba

I don't understand why Bale was hardly in it. I would have expected him to have more screen time, considering he was Dillinger's rival. They didn't do a build up between the two at all. Bale just sometimes showed up to shoot at them.

 

[TheArsenal]

Re: Public Enemies - Grading and Discussion (Johnny Depp, Christian Ba

There isn't really the sense of a true rivalry between Dillinger and Purvis, like in Heat, a far better movie by Michael Mann with DeNiro and Pacino

In fairness, Bale pointed out in several interviews prior to release (including one that can be found in Entertainment Weekly) that his role was a small supporting one, and there isn't the same kind of rivalry as found in Heat because its not that type of film. Which, after seeing the movie, was clearly the case. In the end probably a poor casting decision, as whatever acting skill he may have brought to the role was outweighed by the viewers' expectation of there being a confrontation of the two big actors on opposite sides of the law.

As far as the film, I liked this movie enough, but didn't love it. It had all the elements to be a great film - I can't think of too many faults outside of some underdeveloped characters - but for whatever reason it didn't gel into one.

 

[Yoda]

Re: Public Enemies - Grading and Discussion (Johnny Depp, Christian Ba

It was OK. The sound at my theater sucked, couldn't hear dialogue reliably for the first 20 minutes, and we had morons sitting behind us who every 30 seconds said "Did he/she really just <insert thing done/said by subject>"

I need to develop more patience and just wait on Blu-ray for EVERYTHING.

 

[Evil Twin]

Re: Public Enemies - Grading and Discussion (Johnny Depp, Christian Ba

The sound at my theater sucked, couldn't hear dialogue reliably for the first 20 minutes

As far as I know that's the fault of the movie, not the theater. Experienced the same thing, and seen several people around the net mention it as well. Yet another technical black mark against it.

 

[Yoda]

Re: Public Enemies - Grading and Discussion (Johnny Depp, Christian Ba

The sound at my theater sucked, couldn't hear dialogue reliably for the first 20 minutes

As far as I know that's the fault of the movie, not the theater. Experienced the same thing, and seen several people around the net mention it as well. Yet another technical black mark against it.

The theater has a knob labeled 'Volume', don't they? Maybe it's a movie wide technical glitch, I don't know. The music would also get louder or quieter in random spots, so I figured it was the theater having technical issues.

Whoever is at fault it's completely unacceptable.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

Re: Public Enemies - Grading and Discussion (Johnny Depp, Christian Ba

I finally saw the movie at the discount theater this afternoon. In short, I hated it. 2nd worst movie I've seen all year. (It wasn't as obviously horrid as the #1 worst, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, but it was longer & duller.)

There isn't really the sense of a true rivalry between Dillinger and Purvis, like in Heat, a far better movie by Michael Mann with DeNiro and Pacino

In fairness, Bale pointed out in several interviews prior to release (including one that can be found in Entertainment Weekly) that his role was a small supporting one, and there isn't the same kind of rivalry as found in Heat because its not that type of film. Which, after seeing the movie, was clearly the case. In the end probably a poor casting decision, as whatever acting skill he may have brought to the role was outweighed by the viewers' expectation of there being a confrontation of the two big actors on opposite sides of the law.

Once again, it seems like Christian Bale is creating problems simply by being Christian Bale. First, he derails Terminator Salvation by using his star clout to insist that they beef up the role of John Connor. Now, just the expectation of what a star of his caliber should be doing in a film creates instant disappointment with Public Enemies. (I felt similar confusion & disappointment when I saw Stephen Dorff as a member of Dillinger's gang, yet he didn't get any character development either.)

Honestly, Bale is really starting to frustrate me. I very quickly fell in love with his compelling performances in movies like American Psycho, Reign of Fire, Batman Begins, The Prestige, & 3:10 to Yuma. The Dark Knight is a great movie but Bale seems somewhat detached compared to his excellent co-stars Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, & Aaron Eckhart. Now, he's totally phoning it in in Terminator Salvation & Public Enemies.

I had a hard time distinguishing the side-characters (particularly, anyone in Dillinger's gang who wasn't Dillinger).

And sometimes even when it was Dillinger.

Throughout the movie I had an interesting time trying to determine how we were supposed to feel about Dillinger and his exploits; honestly, I didn't really like any of the main characters, including the lead cops. I really liked Winstead, the Texas cop brought in to help with the pursuit; the actor playing him did a really good job. Crudup's Hoover was likewise very well-acted.

True dat. Marion Cotillard, Stephen Lang, & Billy Crudup were the only ones here that delivered performances here that were even remotely interesting. Well, I guess Channing Tatum was pretty good as Pretty Boy Floyd for the few minutes we saw him before he died. But for me, even the normally excellent Johnny Depp (the sole saving grace of Secret Window) just fell flat here, unable to sustain the movie in the face of its total lack of direction or momentum.

 

[Harvey]

Re: Public Enemies - Grading and Discussion (Johnny Depp, Christian Ba

So, apparently I never posted my thoughts about this film when I finally saw it. Suffice it to say, my feelings were very mixed. I thought Christian Bale had a more developed character than anyone else in the movie, despite limited screen time. The conflict brewing just beneath the surface between him and just about everyone else in the FBI was fascinating. Dillinger just robs banks, has a girl, and gets killed. Depp turns that into a serviceable performance, but that's largely due to him instead of the material.

Technically, the sound mix was noticeably bad (and enough other people have complained about these issues that I'm convinced it was not isolated to my theatre). Dialogue was mixed very low and then very high in a single scene, the music faded in and out very suddenly, and the sound effects sometimes overwhelmed dialogue in scenes where it didn't seem the intention. The cinematography had mixed results. Whenever it photographed the orange light of muzzle flashes or flares (etc.) it looked not like the professional HD photography of the rest of the film, but DV.

Average.

 

[JacksonArcher]

Re: Public Enemies - Grading and Discussion (Johnny Depp, Christian Ba

I just realized I hadn't shared my thoughts on the film either. Technically, I'm usually a big proponent of handheld and HD but it is utilized to mixed results in my opinion -- for instance, I had a hard time understanding the geography of some of the actors in the prison break sequence that opened the film and that was mostly due to the overabundant use of close-ups. A few medium shots wouldn't have hurt.

I also agree with Harvey that Christian Bale comes off feeling the most like a real person in this film. To say that he gave a detached performance would be kind of the point... I think his character, Melvin Purvis, was clearly at odds during the film over his duties and his feelings over his duties. The scene between him and Dillinger where Purvis stops for just a moment after Dillinger calls him out for not having the gul to be an FBI agent... that was just fantastically subtle. In fact, I really like how the film had some wonderfully quiet and reflective moments. The scene where Dillinger strolls into a police station and wanders around the investigation office -- the investigation targeting him and his associates -- was just great, and a great example at just how invincible Dillinger thought he really was. Which makes his death all that more tragic.

I think the strongest parts of the film besides the ones with Purvis is the love dynamic between Dillinger and Billie. You get the sense that both just want this utopian idea of the world -- a view I think Dillinger imposes on Billie -- and towards the end of the film I think both of them believe they can create that fantasy, regardless of the outcome, which is why I love the scene where Billie is captured. Depp really sells the emotion and the heartbreak, and the realization that his "perfect" world is about to come crashing down on him.

So, in the end, I actually really enjoyed the film, but I will agree with others that it does miss "something" (and I don't know what that is...) from being truly great, it's still a fine artistic and technical achievement regardless. No one blocks and stages and photographs a shootout quite like Michael Mann.