Public Enemies

"Public Enemies" is a robotic sort of film. It's technically proficient, but it doesn't have much of a soul.

Those familiar with the director, Michael Mann, who also helped write the screenplay, will hardly be surprised that he's produced another well-crafted, gritty crime drama. This one follows famed 1930's bank robber John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) as FBI agent Melvin Pervis (Christian Bale) hunts him down.

Mann seems to be going for a crime movie that's as realistic as possible. Most of the time "Public Enemies" gives us just the facts, ma'am, with little in the way of characterization or Hollywood touches.

This approach yields some very effective heist and chase sequences. But Mann is so busy chronicling events that we don't really get to know Dillinger: we learn that he's impatient, egotistical and loyal, but that's about it. As for Pervis, he's more of a plot device than a character. This seems like quite a waste, partly because Bale can do a lot more than look tough in a suit, and partly because in real life Pervis committed suicide at 56; surely his job took a large psychological toll on him.

Moreover, Mann still indulges in some inaccuracies. For example, Baby Face Nelson was killed after Dillinger, but the film reverses this to make the latter the last gangster standing. Also ridiculous is a scene in which Dillinger walks into an FBI office hunting him down; the G-men are too caught up listening to a ballgame over lunch to notice him.

One other issue: Mann's use of digital film. This also serves his instincts for realism, with lots of handheld, ultra-sharp shots, but I'm not convinced digital is preferable to film. Digital shots tend to show fast motion--and there is a lot of that in this film--as a distracting blur.

Mann wants to create a grim, documentary-like film, but he still recognizes the need for dramatization. He would have been better served by giving in to the second impulse. It might have taught us more about Dillinger and Pervis; more importantly, it might have made us care.