Public Enemies

There is a long continuum of American outlaws who were legends in their own time whose stature has grown over the years. Dating from the Founding Fathers themselves to the Wild West and into the early decades of the Twentieth century, these individuals challenged and broke the laws of the governments of their times and reveled in populist adoration. Then, the adoration seemingly stopped; the idea of criminal as hero was wiped out as a modern America emerged. John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) was one of the last of these heroes. His demise and a theory as to why the outlaw became a villain in the mind of the general population is the subject of Michael Mann’s latest film, Public Enemies.

Dillinger’s heyday coincided with the end of the easy bank target. His profits came at the expense of banks that still relied on a vault as their only means of defense. A great deal of the film focuses on the FBI’s development of a modern mode of law enforcement designed to capture the brazen gangsters. Led by J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) who tabs Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) as the lead agent tracking Dillinger, the FBI develops a system of wire tapping and profiling to tighten an ever shrinking circle around the outlaw. They go from being two steps behind to a step ahead as they employ tactics that question whether we as a country have sold our souls to bring about the end of the crime spree.

This is a question worth asking because Mann makes a point to throw in a line from Dillinger to another man that the gentleman should put away his money, the gangsters were there for the bank’s money, not the individuals. Set during the Great Depression, this positions Dillinger as a sort of modern day Robin Hood. Not necessarily giving to the poor, but definitely stealing from the rich who were perceived to be stealing from the poor. Was the population really on the side of law and order when the destruction of their financial world was being blamed on the same forces hunting Dillinger? The question is rendered moot as it becomes clearer that a common man can no longer stand up to a corrupt and/or self-interested government. Soon the criminals themselves begin to formulate their own modern techniques, robbing blind both the establishment and the common citizen.

It is a question from an era that has long since passed. The government still has a dubious reputation that is now matched by the country’s famous criminals. They are no longer lionized, but roundly vilified for their heinous acts. With an establishment that has become an untouchable; theft has become sanctioned by the SEC and violence has turned on the concept of neighborly love. Dillinger was as blood-thirsty as Ted Kaczynski and as greedy as Bernie Madoff. Public Enemies hints at why these villains went from famous to infamous in the span of decades and questions which reality would have left America better off.