Plot.
Poster of Public Enemies

Public Enemies

2009 · Film · 140 min

  • Crime
  • History
  • Drama

Plot

Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger's charm and audacity endear him to much of America's downtrodden public, but he's also a thorn in the side of J. Edgar Hoover and the fledgling FBI. Desperate to capture the elusive outlaw, Hoover makes Dillinger his first Public Enemy Number One and assigns his top agent, Melvin Purvis, the task of bringing him in dead or alive.

About Public Enemies

Public Enemies is a 2009 American biographical crime film directed by Michael Mann, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ronan Bennett and Ann Biderman. It is an adaptation of Bryan Burrough's 2004 non-fiction book Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933–34. Set during the Great Depression, the film chronicles the final years of the notorious bank robber John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) as he is pursued by FBI agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale), Dillinger's relationship with Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard), as well as Purvis' pursuit of Dillinger's associates and fellow criminals John "Red" Hamilton (Jason Clarke), Homer Van Meter (Stephen Dorff), Harry Pierpont (David Wenham), and Baby Face Nelson (Stephen Graham). Burrough originally intended to make a television miniseries about the Depression-era crime wave in the United States, but decided to write a book on the subject instead. Mann developed the project, and some scenes were filmed on location where they occurred, though the film is not entirely historically accurate. Public Enemies premiered in Chicago on June 19, 2009, and was released on July 1, 2009, by Universal Pictures. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $214.1 million worldwide against an $80–100 million budget.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Cast

  • Johnny DeppJohn Dillinger
  • Christian BaleMelvin Purvis
  • Marion CotillardBillie Frechette
  • Jason Clarke'Red' Hamilton
  • Rory CochraneAgent Carter Baum
  • Billy CrudupJ. Edgar Hoover
  • Stephen DorffHomer Van Meter
  • Stephen LangCharles Winstead
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