SOME THINK A FANCY FUNERAL WILL BE WORTH EVERY CENT

- Sorry about not blogging for almost a month, some stuff came up and then I got too lazy to write anything, but, I'm back!

- Public Enemies is pretty much what you would expect it to be: a standard Micheal Mann crime film but set in the 30's. This is a very good thing, in my opinion, as Mann is one of my favourite directors and has an ability to consistently bring a mature, artistic (but not "artsy") sensibility to this kind of material. He isn't that much interested in glorifying gangster (or crime-fighter) cliche or using standard action-film tropes. He opts for steadily paced cuts where most directors would create overly frenetic chaos, he lets his characters talk in conversation and monologue rather than shouts and one-liners, he lets his action sequences (which are often spectacular) breath with slower-paced character scenes to heighten the impact of both. In short, he's great and always brings a certain eye to his work that I personally find exhilarating.

In terms of Public Enemies specifically, the thing he brings most is two-fold: a minute attention to period style and detail and an interest in de-mystification. Mann often likes to base his films on true events (The Insider and Ali being two examples), perhaps because he feels his directorial style, which has, for his last few films, tended towards hand-held and gritty, suits them well and it certainly works here. The ease with which he orchestrates the big bank-robbing scenes and a thrilling forest shoot-out are a wonder to behold, especially with the glowing costume and set work. What's more, their complete comprehensibility feels like a tall glass of refreshing water after the choppy-cut nightmare of Transformers. In addition, Mann doesn't want to make any of the characters into caricatures; John Dillinger isn't seen as an avenging folk-hero or a no-good villain, simply a guy who liked the fast-life and got to it through crime because it was the only way he could. Melvin Purvis, as well, is seen as just a flawed a character, not a foil for Dillinger or a righteous arbiter of justice.

So, yes, the movie succeeds on the action front but it's the fact that Mann is unafraid to be a little slow elsewhere that makes it work even better. Scenes take a while to build, characters make their plans and scheme with candor, the relationships between characters are allowed to tangle and grow without cut-and-dry endings. It's almost like he's smuggling a human-drama into his gangster picture. And with the excellent actors he's drafted to help him (Johnny Depp superbly works a combination of charm and danger as Dillinger, Christian Bale proves to us he isn't content to simply do "the voice" in every movie he's in from now on as Purvis), it's no wonder that it works as well as it does.

Now, the film isn't perfect, some scenes do drag a bit, there are some redundant moments in the middle, the ending drags on a little long and at points Mann's camera work is a little too muddy and pseudo-documentary. However, it is a relief to have a wide-release film in the summer that isn't a mindless explosion fest or a simple counter-active to them. It indulges in action and blockbuster filmmaking tropes while maintaining a truly artistic flair, and I wouldn't expect anything less from Mann.