Depp Sizzles As Dillinger

While Mann makes the movie look pretty without big budget effects!

The tale of John Dillinger is known to an extant in the modern world. Most would recognize the name but very few would actually know his story. Director Michael Mann (Heat, Miami Vice) has set out to change that. Not only did he direct but also co-wrote the film with Ronan Bennett (Lucky Break) and Ann Biderman (Primal Fear) who based their screenplay off Bryan Burrough’s book Public Enemies: America’s Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI. Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy) plays John Dillinger while Stephen Graham (Inkheart) and Channing Tatum (Fighting) star as the other notorious gangsters Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd. Billy Crudup (Watchmen) is J. Edgar Hoover, the head of the FBI, who gives the task of finding John Dillinger to Melvin Purvis portrayed by Christian Bale (The Dark Knight). Rounding out the spectacular supporting cast is Marion Cotillard (A Good Year), Giovanni Ribisi (Perfect Stranger), Stephen Dorff (Blade), Leelee Sobieski (88 Minutes), Jason Clarke (Death Race), Shawn Hatosy (Alpha Dog) and Branka Katic (The Englishmen).

To say this is a John Dillinger bio-pic could be misleading. Mann chose to tell the tale of Dillinger’s final years. It is a very interesting lead-up to his demise but we never find out what drives the man. “I rob banks” is what Dillinger states throughout the film and he is good at it. We are never given any insight as to why he robs banks. So if you go in expecting to find this information out you will leave disappointed.

That being said, this film is fantastic looking. Mann knows his way around a camera, better than any other director in my opinion, bringing us beautiful angles, landscapes and gun battles. Even if this was a bad film I could watch it over again for the detail that Mann puts into it. A unique choice that Mann made was not telling us in big bold letters across the screen “TUCSON”, instead he carefully dropped that the gang was going to meet there next and showed us cacti and desert to imply where they are. A few times in the movie this was used and it is never jarring and very easy to figure out exactly what city they are currently residing in.

The sprawling amount of cast members in this movie was surprising. I knew Mann had brought quite a few actors on board that could hold their own with Depp and Bale but I couldn’t believe how deep a cast it was. The best part about it, not a single person was miscast. Everyone was as convincing as the next. I want to say that Bale might have been the weak point but I think that had to do with the lack of growth his character received throughout the film. On the other hand Depp brings his persona and turns it into Dillinger’s (even looking quite like the real John Dillinger). "I like baseball, movies, good clothes, fast cars... and you. What else do you need to know?" spews Dillinger, and Depp delivers his line so perfect as the overconfident, smug outlaw.

I found only two things really wrong with this film. One may not have actually been the film itself but the theatre and the crappy sound system. In the beginning minute when Dillinger is escaping from the jail with his gang, a few of the men spoke from the back seat and you could hardly hear a word they said. Only a few seconds later one of them spoke again, louder than the sound of the gun shots from moments ago. Later in the film, and I found this problem with Mann’s Miami Vice as well, there were moments when the film really slowed down. Mann could have made some edits which could have solved this problem.

Since I saw the first poster of Depp as Dillinger I knew I wanted to see this. Honestly, this was probably my most anticipated film to see this year. I would watch the movie trailer almost weekly. Now, after seeing the film, I can say that it was a good film but it did disappoint a bit. It was not the great film I expected but it is definitely worth watching and I will be buying this when it comes out on DVD (or maybe I will have upgraded to Blu-Ray by then). Mann shoots Depp and his co-stars so beautifully that even if this was a bad film I would tell you to go see it.

4 out of 5
Colin Enquist