Hole in the heart

Public Enemies
15, Nationwide 

Public Enemies is Michael Mann’s film about the last year in the life of American bank robber John Dillinger (as played by Johnny Depp) and it just kind of drags. I think it may be because unlike other films of this type following outlaws of this type — Bonnie and Clyde, Butch and Sundance, but not Renée and Renato, who have plenty to answer for but are not outlaws of any type, so of no relevance — it doesn’t ask you to take sides; doesn’t invite you to warm to Dillinger and hope he somehow gets away. Look, there is much to admire in this film. It is sublimely elegant. The cars are beautiful. Johnny Depp is lush. And I especially liked the way the machine guns exploded with cackling bursts of white fire, just as they do in comic books. But it’s as if the whole thing has been emotionally cauterised.