Dillinger, You Da Mann

No matter how much director Michael Mann denies it, his new gangster flick Public Enemies, has many similarities to his 1995 classic Heat. There's the equal but opposites of the career criminal and hardened cop, both smart enough to realise their obsessions are not the best thing for their peace of mind, relationships or health. Of course, they have one major conversation in the entire movie...and it ends rather badly for one of them (no spoilers here...it's Dillinger...don't you read history?).

After an rambling start the movie starts to click as we get to see how bank robber Dillinger (Johnny Depp) operates and how his opposite number, Christian Bale's FBI go-to guy Purvis, organises his counter offensive. Depp is well cast as the serious but charismatic thief. As the movie progresses we begin to see his love of cinema and how it affects his lifestyle; his choice of women, how he looks and where he chooses to operate.

Whether it's Mann's direction, the structure of the script or the quality of the casting, but I found the Christian Bale side of the story more interesting. Bale's got a reputation of only doing shouty, angry roles recently. Here he dials it back and proves why he's one of the best actors working today. He demonstrates his commitment to his line of work, but he very subtley conveys his doubts, inner-conflicts and insecurities. The police procedural stuff is facinating..seeing how deduction and investagative techniques had advanced by 1933 (they had wire-tapping dontchano!)

Best of all is the decision to shoot this period movie in hi-defintion video, as Mann has done since Collateral. It gives the movie an immediate home video style, putting the audience right in the centre of the action. You feel you're there in the room or standing next to the guy with the tommy gun. The technique removes part of the cinematic barrier which subliminally tells you it isn't real. The result, combined with the detail-obsessed Mann, is an immersive cinematic experience. You feel like you're in 1933. The digital film brings out all the subtle details in the image; individual hairs on a fur coat or the imperfection on a facial compexion.

Goldenthal's music score is sparse, but makes an impact when it appears. Better still is the director's decision to use music of the time, as he did with Miami Vice, to give the movie more texture. The use of Otis Taylor's Ten Million Slaves during the early robberies brings an excitment and coolnes music score alone could not achieve.

An enjoyable movie but not an original or great one. Heat still remains the template for this basic story, being better balanced between the leads and is generally written overall. But I'd say it's Mann's best film since that masterpiece.