Official Movie Website Theatrical Release 07/01/09 Home Video Not Available MPAA Rating Rated R for gangster violence and some language . Running Time 2 hours 23 minutes Genre Drama, Crime, Action Director Michael Mann Writer Ronan Bennett, Ann Biderman Cast Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, David Wenham, Stephen Graham, Marion Cotillard, Channing Tatum, Giovanni Ribisi, Stephen Dorff, Adam Mucci, Billy Crudup, Stephen Lang, Shawn Hatosy, Emilie de Ravin, James Russo, Leelee Sobieski Studio Universal |
PUBLIC ENEMIES (2009)
SYNOPSIS
In the action-thriller Public Enemies, acclaimed
filmmaker Michael Mann directs Johnny Depp,
Christian Bale and Academy Award® winner Marion
Cotillard in the story of legendary Depression-era
outlaw John Dillinger (Depp)—the charismatic bank
robber whose lightning raids made him the number
one target of J. Edgar Hoover’s fledgling FBI and its top
agent, Melvin Purvis (Bale), and a folk hero to much of
the downtrodden public.
No one could stop Dillinger and his gang. No jail could
hold him. His charm and audacious jailbreaks
endeared him to almost everyone—from his girlfriend
Billie Frechette (Cotillard) to an American public who
had no sympathy for the banks that had plunged the
country into the Depression.
But while the adventures of Dillinger’s gang—later
including the sociopathic Baby Face Nelson (Stephen
Graham) and Alvin Karpis (Giovanni Ribisi)—thrilled
many, Hoover (Billy Crudup) hit on the idea of exploiting
the outlaw’s capture as a way to elevate his Bureau of
Investigation into the national police force that became
the FBI. He made Dillinger America’s first Public Enemy
Number One and sent in Purvis, the dashing “Clark
Gable of the FBI.’’
However, Dillinger and his gang outwitted and
In the action-thriller Public Enemies, acclaimed
filmmaker Michael Mann directs Johnny Depp,
Christian Bale and Academy Award® winner Marion
Cotillard in the story of legendary Depression-era
outlaw John Dillinger (Depp)—the charismatic bank
robber whose lightning raids made him the number
one target of J. Edgar Hoover’s fledgling FBI and its top
agent, Melvin Purvis (Bale), and a folk hero to much of
the downtrodden public.
No one could stop Dillinger and his gang. No jail could
hold him. His charm and audacious jailbreaks
endeared him to almost everyone—from his girlfriend
Billie Frechette (Cotillard) to an American public who
had no sympathy for the banks that had plunged the
country into the Depression.
But while the adventures of Dillinger’s gang—later
including the sociopathic Baby Face Nelson (Stephen
Graham) and Alvin Karpis (Giovanni Ribisi)—thrilled
many, Hoover (Billy Crudup) hit on the idea of exploiting
the outlaw’s capture as a way to elevate his Bureau of
Investigation into the national police force that became
the FBI. He made Dillinger America’s first Public Enemy
Number One and sent in Purvis, the dashing “Clark
Gable of the FBI.’’
However, Dillinger and his gang outwitted and
© 2003 St. Louis Movie Review Weekly. All rights reserved, except where indicated.
All movie titles, pictures, etc...are the property of their respective studios.
All movie titles, pictures, etc...are the property of their respective studios.
| ST. LOUIS MOVIE REVIEW WEEKLY |
outgunned Purvis’ men in wild chases and shootouts. Only after importing a crew of Western ex-lawmen
(newly baptized as agents) and orchestrating epic betrayals—from the infamous “Lady in Red’’ to the
Chicago crime boss Frank Nitti—were Purvis, the FBI and their new crew of gunfighters able to close in on
Dillinger.© Universal Pictures
(newly baptized as agents) and orchestrating epic betrayals—from the infamous “Lady in Red’’ to the
Chicago crime boss Frank Nitti—were Purvis, the FBI and their new crew of gunfighters able to close in on
Dillinger.© Universal Pictures