Public Enemies: Johnny Depp plays John Dillinger with a heart

July 6, 9:33 AMCharlotte Episcopal ExaminerAngela Boatright-Spencer

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Johnny Depp.                                          AP photo/Joel Ryan

There's something irresistible about a thief with a heart, or, at the very least, good manners.  That seems to be the case in Public Enemies, director Michael Mann's latest film, starring Johnny Depp as John Dillinger, a loyal, respectful and ruthless thief who doesn't neglect to give a lady his topcoat and won't steal from a working-class man...at least not directly.

As the movie unfolds, viewers are swept into the Dillinger Gangs' major crime spree of 1933-34, when they pulled off a series of robberies in the Midwest.  [The largest heist (Indiana's Central National Bank) brought them $75,000 - roughly $1.2 million by today's standards.] It's a little like being caught in the middle of a swirling river without knowing whether you're going upstream or down: plenty of action, but no sense of direction. It's difficult to piece the story together, and that's a major flaw in this otherwise beautiful-to-look-at film.  We aren't always sure of what we're seeing.  The opening sequence, for example, might be a flashback, or ...maybe not.  Who are the people? Who is that running through the woods? We don't know.  It takes a few minutes into the film before the narrative emerges clearly. Throughout the film, we see Dillinger's behavior, but we aren't given the reasons for it.  We see him being kind to various people, and that draws us to him, but we don't know where that instinct comes from in him. We see his mischievous side --  for example, walking right smack into the FBI's task force dedicated to catching him, cooly checking out the photos of himself and even asking the officers the score of the ball game they're listening to, and getting away with it. We see him display ruthless anger and cruelty, throwing an associate out of a car because he didn't stick to a getaway plan, but, again, we don't know the roots of it.  To try a different metaphor - imagine being presented with a beautifully executed meal without knowing what it is you're eating.  You enjoy it, but come away with no new understanding.  Perhaps that's asking too much of a movie, or a meal.

But it is a problem; we need to understand the why of criminal behavior, especially when we're drawn into liking Dillinger, and siding with him against law enforcement because he seems to be the nicer guy. The official website provides reasons the film neglects: depression era antipathy toward banks made bank robbers heroes of sorts; Dillinger's daring, in-your-face-exploits acted out the anger the public felt toward financiers. We're told there that he underwent plastic surgery, which explains why his visit to the task force went undetected.  Equally mysterious is the FBI's Melvin Purvis (played by Christian Bale).  We watch him become ruthless, in a different way, but we watch him deteriorate without developing much empathy for him.  We want to know more about him, but the information isn't forthcoming.  Human beings aren't just what they do; the why of behavior is important. The why gives us an eye into their souls, and the soul is the part that defines who we are.  We don't learn who these people are, and that's a sadness.

Director Michael Mann has constructed a gorgeous-to-look-at film that is very satisfying to watch, but is frustrating for those who want to understand human nature.  At the very least, we want to know why we're compelled to pray for their souls, and why we are saddened by their deaths.

For more on "Public Enemies," see Charlotte Movie Examiner Frank O'Dell's review.