Public Enemies

Here’s another lesson in theater etiquette, this time solely for theater managers.  I currently intern at the Tribeca Film Institute, and was lucky enough to attend a private screening for staff of Tribeca Industries, which co-produced the film.  The projecter at the theater was broken, and shut off multiple times throughout the movie.  The difference between how this theater handled it, compared to AMC Garden State’s botched attempt, is where the lesson lies.  After the second mishap, the theater manager came into the room and offered us all beer at the bar and lounge next door.  The projector was fixed moments after we all accepted, but it was the offer that counts.  I’ll surely show this theater my patronage again, should I get another opportunity.

Public Enemies was good.  A great slam-bang historical shoot-em-up: plenty of bullets, dames, and fast getaway cars.  It tells the story of John Dillinger, the highest-profile bank robber of the 1920s that the law just couldn’t keep its hands on.  Johnny Depp is cool as ice in the role of Dillinger, and Christian Bale proves he is the master of flawless accents in the role of Melvin Purvis.  Supporting performances from Marion Cotillard and Billy Crudup round out an excellent cast.

All in all, this is a fun, solid movie, with equal parts gunfights, love, and drama.  It captures the feel and style of the time well.  It paints Dillinger in just a positive-enough light to get us to root for him, but not too positive as to make us feel too sorry when this murderer and robber is eventually killed (if you can read about it in a history textbook, it’s not a spoiler).  Certainly something to try and catch in theaters, but nothing to be heartbroken about if you have to wait for DVD.