Amy WangPublic Enemies
August 5th 2009 20:37
Public Enemies, the new film by action/drama director Michael Mann is based on the true story of John Dillinger, played by Johnny Depp who is a notorious bank robber, famous during the 1930s/1940s for slipping through the fingers of authority until finally being captured by an FBI team led by Melvin Purvis. Ok, now that thats out of the way, I must expose this fact about the film. Public Enemies was shot entirely on HD Digital. NOT FILM. Now, I am a huge fan of all forms of formats, appreciating the differences and the little similarities between film and digital. But one thing I've always frowned upon when it comes to digital is that because the frames are quicker and so less blurring is seen during action sequences, it can give an amateurish look to a film. With film stock, since it is normally 24 frames per second, the camera seems to capture things more smoothly and more 'dreamlike' in a sense. Also, the lighting is a lot different, which affects the look of the film. The action is A LOT clearer, and by the way the film was shot very hand held, that added to the appearance of 'documentary style' filmmaking.
Now, don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed this style of filmmaking, it really adds a whole new level of belief and basically makes me feel like I'm watching a documentary of Johnny Depp and Christian Bale rather than a movie starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. Very realistic! But, at the same time, it had a certain look of cheapness to it. I can't think of another, less harsh word to describe the feeling I had, but it looked a little cheap. Although because it was shot in HD, everything was crystal clear (excuse cliche), that didn't help when every single tiny movement made by the actors were captured, with no blurriness. I almost felt a little dizzy during a scene where movement was central. The runny and fast movements were just so clear!
Now, onto the actual film, to be honest, I was a little confused. Now before I watched it, I had heard from many people that the beginning was the most confusing, however, I found the middle part to be confusing. The whole storyline was interlaced really well with just the right amount of love, violence, compassion, hope and ultimate justice (strangely), but at the same time, I felt it kind of lacked something. During the film, I thought it lacked humanity. It lacked anything that made me feel something. One thing that differentiates from a good film and a great film is emotional resonance. If I did not emotionally feel this film or connect with it on some level, it does not deserve a full 5 stars. This was the problem I felt with Public Enemies. All of the actors did a great job in their portrayals, the tension was there (most of the time) but I just could not connect or even care for John DIllinger (Depp's character) at all. By the end, obviously you were siding with him, but at the same time, whether he was caught or not really didn't concern me that much.
The only time I felt something was when Dillinger's girlfriend well played by Marion Cotillard was being interigated by 'the bad cop'. The sincerity and humanity that poured out of that scene made it my favourite part of the entire movie. Everything else just blurred into a combination of killing, running, robbing and gloating.
Overall, with their budget size, Michael Mann and his team of highly skilled crew, it would've been hard to make a really bad film out of Public Enemies but at the same time, they failed to deliver something great. Apart from its visual qualities mostly because of the choice of format (HD), nothing really stayed with me. I give this film 3.5 STARS OUT OF 5 just for the fact that it was a good film, don't get me wrong, but it lacked resonating sincerity or passion.
Peace out.
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Comment by Norm
Consumption Malfunction
Equal and Opposite
Arses and Elbows
Footy Power
Did Michael Mann direct Heat?
Ah, emotional resonance. I'm thinking out loud here, but could it be that a movie either gives us, the viewer, a chance to get feeling or a chance to give it? That is, catharis or empathy...
I really should cut down on my thinking. That's two and it's not even 1.
Comment by stu-kicks
stu kicks
Comment by Amy Wang
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Haha Stu. Yes, yes please highlight the fact that I pressed the 'post' button twice due to my lagging computer and have failed to delete one of the posts because both now have comments...