Sunday, 05 July 2009

• Currently Bye Bye Blackbird By John Coltrane see related

  "Get Outta Heh"

  That's my mob talk ;) I saw the recently released film, "Public Enemies", this week. It was quite interesting as it retold the story of John Dillinger and the very meager beginnings of the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover (played by the guy who is always a lawyer in movies... he looks like one so I don't blame the casting directors).
  
  Initial reasons for going to see it: 1) I love the 30s 2) Christian Bale 3) the Dillinger story (fascinating) 4) Christian Bale 5) Marion Cotillard (brilliant French actress) and 6) Christian Bale.
  
    
  
  
  
  The film had a few inappropriate scenes (Hollywood can't help itself evidently). Besides that... there's also the whole "make a hero out of the villain" trick to pull the audience in emotionally. It worked. Not that I felt sorry necessarily for John Dillinger, but regrettably, I did breathlessly wait to see him get away or break out of jail (again). That is partly due to how the law enforcement was painted... which was basically as inept (except for Christian Bale's character :d) Of course I won't give away the ending but I just have to say that it was superbly executed. No pun intended ;)
  
  
  
  The scenes were so real... drawing the viewer in... at least like I've never felt drawn in before. But perhaps that is because I have literally not been to a movie theater in a month or so. At any rate, I tried really hard to not just sit back and blank out but think through every scene and detail of the film. Director Michael Mann was fantastic with creating things as vividly and as correctly (for the time period) as possible. The appropriate wrinkles showed up on the suits. Hardly any makeup on the actors (you could see every pore practically lol). I could tell how stuffy the rooms were. I could smell the tobacco filled close-quarters. I could feel how scratchy the fabrics were. You could see the perspiration. You could sense the desperation. Bullets were ricocheting (few movies show how bullets actually act). The sound of wood splitting as the metal bullets slammed into trees or buildings was so piercing... it also helped that my seat shook and trembled at every shot (thanks to the new glam theater and their special effects). And then there was the blood running along the carpet... the fibers soaking in each drop. The film was simple and stark... exactly as it should be. No elaborate sets or things looking "overdone" or too staged. Mann took us on a very realistic journey to the 1930s... and to the Depression.
  
  There were some glamorous scenes as well... the glowing candlelit dinner club rooms. The satin red dress. Flowing champagne. Fur coats. Quiet dancing to "Bye, Bye Blackbird". Made me smile :)
  
  
  
  "Look. They're all staring at me."
  "That's because you're the most beautiful woman here."
  "No... they're staring at me because they're not used to seeing someone wearing a $3 dollar dress in their restaurant."
  
  Johnny Depp definitely portrayed John Dillinger as quite the romantic. lol
  
  One very interesting aspect of the film was how many scenes there were without background music. The absence of a soundtrack only became evident when the theater was absolutely silent during a lull in the... shooting. Which happened occasionally. lol Interestingly, the film quality was not that great. The cinematography was brilliant, but the colors and sometimes lighting looked like something a beginning filmmaker could do. As I said, it was a very simple film in pretty much every aspect which surprised me. But in some ways, I appreciate the movie even more because of it. Oddly enough.
  
  All in all, the main actors stepped up to their characters' role with a natural ability. I would say this would be one of Depp's finest films.
  
  Forged aboud id...
  Couldn't resist one more ;)
  

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