Public Enemy, or public hero?

Gangster flick leaves viewers with questions about right and wrong.

By: Logan West

Posted: 7/2/09

In "Public Enemies," director Michael Mann brings to life a tragic story from 1930s Chicago that is real, fantastic and digs at the wishes of freedom everyone longs for. He presents it well with an all-star cast including Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, and Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard.

Played by Johnny Depp, John Dillinger is a man who knows what he wants, why he wants it and how he is going to get it. He also has a charismatic personality and charm that makes him irresistible to women and revered by men. He is a simple man living by an exceptional code. This code includes loyalty to friends, generosity to the poor and no remorse in punishing those around him who violate the code. The only problem is he robs banks, and the government does not appreciate it.

Dillinger, Public Enemy No. 1, is an outlaw who appeals to the public and hides among them because he is just like them. The one difference is that he has the audacity to take what he wants in a time of economic crisis, making him a hero and champion to the fascinated and impoverished public.

This is highly relatable in a time when we are experiencing an economic crisis, and Depp pulls off a persona with style and sophistication. However, today we can only experience bank robberies like Dillinger's in the movies.

Unfortunately for a simple man like Dillinger, a complex enemy has arisen that does not care about the need and desires of one man nor the attention of the public. It only cares about one thing: putting away Dillinger. This enemy is science and technology as employed by the FBI.

The FBI is implementing means of catching criminals with scientific detective techniques. The spearhead of this new method is Melvin Purvis, played by Christian Bale.

Purvis is a moral opposite of Dillinger, but has several things in common with him. Purvis lives by a moral code much like Dillinger, they are both fully committed to what they do and they understand the cost of human life in their work. The difference between them is that while Dillinger is the charming controller of his environment, Purvis is a stiff and rigid robot controlled by the goals of the FBI. Considering his acting abilities, Bale seems limited by such a bland role.

Dillinger is arrested early in his successful career. He gets out of many situations and prisons, but his tragic flaw is the loyalty he has to his lover Billie Frechette, played by Marion Cotillard, a simple girl among the public whom Dillinger picks out to join him in the exciting ride that is his life.

His pride and loyalty lead him to Chicago again and again. Eventually he is left alone, and his chase for freedom leads him further and further down the rabbit hole into jobs he does not want to pull with people he does not trust. He continues to believe one last score will put him over the top and allow him to run away forever. This all leads to a climactic and sorrowful ending, because Dillinger refuses to leave Billie behind.

Toward the end of the film, there are unexpected turns that make you wonder, when will it end? Where are they going with this? Open-ended questions ensue about how he will save Billie. However, these are summed up after the lengthy two-hour and 20 minutes run time.

Dillinger's tragedy is not being able to give up on his ethics, no matter how distorted they might be to the rest of us. This leads to the eventual victory of the FBI, but only after the Bureau improves itself by adapting its style to fight modern crime. Thanks to criminals like Dillinger, the FBI became the government agency we know today. Audiences will be left with questions about what is really right and wrong after viewing this gangster film.

2.5 out 4 gig 'ems

Logan West is a senior political science major