by A. Marshall

Created on: July 09, 2009

Public Enemies is a movie that should strike a resonance with current audiences. It's set in 1930's America when the public have no sympathy for the banks that have plunged them into the Great Depression. Charismatic bank robber John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) goes on a series of audacious heists, skipping over state lines in fast cars to escape justice. He is designated the title of 'Public Enemy Number One' but, known for handing back the cash of customers during bank raids, he becomes an unlikely hero.

After ten years in jail for a convenience store hold-up, Dillinger is making up for lost time. He meets Billie Freshette (Marion Cotillard) at a dance one evening and immediately decides she's going to be his girl - whether she likes it or not. Fearful of him, but charmed by his charisma, good looks and sheer persistence, she agrees, changing her life forever. In return he swears he will never let her down.

However, J Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) head of the Bureau of Investigation assigns his best crimefighter Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale), known as 'the Clark Gable of the FBI' to track down Dillinger and his gang. Using the most up to date surveillance techniques, and with new powers to cross over state lines, Purvis embarks on a ruthless pursuit that involves a series of bloody gunfights.

The title Public Enemies would apparently refer to Dillinger and his gang, but could also be applied to Dillinger and Purvis, as the chase is played out in public via the cinema, radio and newspapers. Both are ruthless, determined men at the top of their chosen field, handsome, well liked and unrelenting in their determination to achieve their goals. The only real difference between them is that one enforces the law and the other defies it. When they meet the atmosphere between them crackles with tension as they eye each other, as if they recognize a resemblance there. Both are haunted by the deaths of the ones they have lost on the way, but when Purvis asks what keeps Dillinger awake at night he cockily answers 'coffee'.

Johnny Depp plays this role with the same total commitment he gives to previous roles, immersing himself entirely into the persona of the hard-bitten bank robber who nevertheless commits himself to never letting his friends down. His eyes are steely and cold, but sometimes there's a flicker of emotion on his face as someone gets killed unnecessarily. It gives the impression that this is not what he wanted when he embarked on his life of

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