Fridae

Johnny Depp can do no wrong. Every movie he stars in these days turns out to be winning one, and the crime thriller Public Enemies is no different.

 Cool, fluid and oh-so-stylish, Public Enemies takes you to the 1930s Depression era when real-life criminal John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) rose to become one of the most notorious bank robbers in American history. Between 1933 and 1935, he's responsible for three prison breaks, several robberies and numerous deaths of police officers. The FBI devoted an entire department to his arrest, but he continued to evade capture... until a certain Agent Purvis (Christian Bale) was assigned to the job.

Based on a book by Bryan Burroughs, Public Enemies is directed by the excellent Michael Mann (Heat, Collateral, Miami Vice) whose slick vision of crime dramas never fails to impress. The cool pseudo-realistic camerawork hits you from the first scene when Dillinger is carrying out the first prison break.With fluid cameras and slightly grainy images, Mann depicts the frenzied thrills of breaking the law and getting away with it again and again. 

John Dillinger, after all, was a hero in the Depression era. Common folk saw him as their dark avenger, robbing back the banks that had robbed them of their homes and farms. When he was arrested, the journalists who met him were awestruck by his nonchalant charisma and style. The image of the cool gangster trickled down to the public, who began to worship him. 

Who better then to play John Dillinger than Johnny Depp himself, whose own cool and aloof persona fits the character like a glove. Long live, Depp! Marion Cotillard who plays his girlfriend holds her own, while Christian Bale is well-cast as the hardnosed FBI agent who never stops chasing his fast-moving target. Depp and Bale are so convincing in their roles that you never stop to think that maybe these men, with their GQ-ready gorgeousness, look nothing like the real McCoys. 

It doesn't matter anyway. Public Enemies is so stylish and intriguing, it sweeps you off your feet and takes you for a breathtaking ride.