I had high hopes for this film. You would have thought that a film with such a high calibar cast with the likes of Christian Bale, Morian Cotillard, and the always great Johnny Depp as the famous John Dillinger, with direction by Heat director: Michael Mann would surely be a sure fire and a definite hit. I am sad to say that as a fan of Michael Mann's, Christian Bale's, and Johnny Depp's work and the legacy of the outlaw that was John Dillinger that this movie is just ok.
To start off with some of the positive aspects about this film. The acting is definitely good. Christian Bale did a suitable job as Pervis, and so did Marion Cotillard as Billie, but the standout of this film is definitely Johnny Depp as John Dillinger. Johnny was definitely the right person for the role of Dillinger. Depp captured the sagger and he definitely was the most well defined of all the characters. Depp is radiating charisma on-screen that you just can't help but cheer for him. He has such a scene stealing presence that you really want this guy to win. Depp was good as Dillinger, but not fantastic. The film also captured the vibe of the 1940's very well. I thought that it was represented onscreen and I believed the world that was presented. The shoot outs were cool, but flawed with the shakey camera. The sound is awesome in these sequences. The intensity is definitely there and is vivid in these sequences! The opening sequence definitely well establishes the mood for the film and it's definitely there at different points in the film.
Now onto the negatives...
First off, much of the blame for why this film just doesn't work for me has to go to the Director Michael Mann. I know Mann is capable of doing great things with a story, but here, he just feels very amateur and the film feels very anti-climatic because of it. The action scenes have no real payoff at the end of them. The Bank Robbery sequences almost feel secondary. My problem with the film has nothing to do with the talent at all, my problem is what Michael Mann decided to focus on in the story. What he chooses to focus on is the romanticized love story between Depp and Marion. Which can be fine, but Mann doesn't make it interesting for the characters or to the audience. The script for the film just isn't all that interesting. The love story to me, just didn't work here. It feels very underdeveloped by the climax of the picture and you have no sense of feelings for these two to be together. They miss certain aspects about John Dillinger that would have told a much more fascinating story. John Dillinger got into robbing banks for one reason: The People. He wanted to in some way show the rest of the country that they didn't have to take shit from the upper class and that everybody deserves a slice of that pie. He was there for the granduer. They briefly only hint at it at scenes, but that was the essence of Dillenger. Dillenger was a bad guy to begin with and Depp captures that well, but not to the full extent that it could have. The conclusion in which this character comes to feels out of character and not Dillinger. And what they decide to focus on in thr film in place of that just doesn't seem all that interesting. The dialogue has no real pop to it and the rest of the cast is just a bit underused.
One of my major gripes with the film is that just looks like crap and looks very amatuerish. This is not steming from the fact that it was shot on digital, its just the all the hand held stuff in the film becomes too much at a point and you just want Michael to stop fuckin shake the camera during a quiet 2 way conversation. I have no problem with shooting digital. One of my favorite films of last year (Slumdog Millionaire) was shot with sequences in digital, but those sequences were very climatic and definitely worked for that film well, and it looked gorgeous! The shakey camera sticks out like a sore thumb in a lot of this film and it becomes a distraction. Keep in mind, I loved Cloverfield, but the handheld stuff doesn't complement the narrative in this film. The editing choices in the film are also sometimes downright horrible. The editing is very amateurish at times. The cuts feel very unmotivated at times and pull you out of the experience of the film altogether. The looks of the film is very compromised due to the excessive use of the hand held altogether to where you really noticed the technical obstacles that this film just doesn't overcome. The pacing of the film is all over the place. It starts off strong, then it becomes very slow to a tortoise pace. Although I was able to stay awake through the film, I was only halfass engaged with the film at these slow points. I was more encompassed by Depp in this film than anything. Overall, much of the flaws this film has is stemmed from Mann's direction with the film.
Overall, Much of the film feels like a missed opportunity. This film could have been amazing, but it is hendered by a lot of the problems inherent in Mann's Collateral(2004) and Miami Vice(2006). I wanted to love this film. I wanted to say that this was the Mann that we were waiting for since 1995's HEAT. But it is unfair to comprare this to Heat because this is a radically different animal than that film was. Overall it was just ok, but definitely a missed opportunity that could have been fantastic. I'd give it a RENTAL at best. I know I am biased to a certain extent because I am very familiar with Dillinger and what the great depression did to lower class folks to push them to these limits. Not a total mis-fire. Sorry guys, but John Dillinger definitely deserved better.
Till next time, keep the films rolling!
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