tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5929352816561809263.post3364686931306526314..comments2023-10-24T01:19:24.492-04:00Comments on Little Worlds : Public Enemies, Private LivesRichard Bellamyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12397053921647421425noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5929352816561809263.post-78153703987898414422009-07-06T11:58:52.163-04:002009-07-06T11:58:52.163-04:00Jason - Thanks for the link to this post on your b...Jason - Thanks for the link to this post on your blog.<br /><br />One last thought about your comment above. You say - "All that really matters in those scenes is that we know that these side characters matter to the main character." That's not enough for me - especially if a character practically dies in the main character's arms. I need to know a little bit more about the minor character for that scene to work for me. For example, a scene to show their closeness - horsing around or something - so that the death scene achieves some poignancy.Richard Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12397053921647421425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5929352816561809263.post-69109598190397319832009-07-06T11:15:21.873-04:002009-07-06T11:15:21.873-04:00Ghibli - Thanks for the comment. Yes, Purvis is a ...Ghibli - Thanks for the comment. Yes, Purvis is a very intriguing character. I was shocked my the blurb saying that he killed himself. That might have been an interesting episode to include in the film, but I suppose that's another story entirely. But he is definitely conflicted - pressing on one guy's wound, saving Billie.<br /><br />FilmDr - I missed Red in the beginning because faces seemed so similar - or maybe it was my fault. And I acknowledge the subtleties that you point out. You're right, Mann is trying to stay away from conventions - and he does a good job at that. Just, something was lacking from the film. Since, halfway through I felt detached - just watching randomly edited-together vignettes with little effect.Richard Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12397053921647421425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5929352816561809263.post-89329919343590082322009-07-06T10:21:54.379-04:002009-07-06T10:21:54.379-04:00Hokahey,
Nice analysis, although the very things ...Hokahey,<br /><br />Nice analysis, although the very things that you found lacking in the film intrigued me. I wonder if Mann left out the backstory of characters like Red (although he is prominent in the opening scene) because he was concerned that the audience might have found that too easy, predictable, and sentimental if he explained too much. The movie hints at lots of things--Baby Face Nelson's character, Alvin Karpis' kidnappings, and so on, but Mann does flesh out Dillinger's relationship with Billie. Mann gives us an elliptical slice of Dillinger's story, and I wonder if he made it that way to add some mystery and artistry to what would otherwise have been an obvious genre film.The Film Doctor https://www.blogger.com/profile/03073505923746994988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5929352816561809263.post-82498611038374044812009-07-05T23:29:25.840-04:002009-07-05T23:29:25.840-04:00I couldn't agree more with the scene in which ...I couldn't agree more with the scene in which Bale's Pervis puts the kibosh on the beating of Billie. That and the hunt through the woods made me start caring, and care I did. <br /><br />I had to look away more times from that scene than any other bloody one and honestly thought with her backtalk and then final honesty that her "fat boy" interrogator was about to kill her in some unimaginable way.<br /><br />Not only was the Pervis rescue a question in my mind because of his newly adopted hard ass techniques for rendering truth (the horribly painful pushing on a near dead man's face in the hospital), but his true compounded hatred for what mockery Dillinger was doing to his entire profession. I thought she was a dead woman. I was happy to see Bale's performance there.<br /><br />However, it's moments like that in film that make me now need to read the truth. I want to know when and why Pervis ended his own life. Was it years of street wars? Psychological stress from killing and defending?<br /><br />I'd love to know if someone has insight. While I loved Depp's performance and the good story-telling, I have to say I am processing the film wanting to know more about Pervis much in the same way I loved Tommy Lee Jones' Sheriff Bell in "No Country," and more so, Fugitive hunter Sam Gerard. While he never asked for donuts with little sprinkles on them, Pervis intrigues me.Ghiblihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09411704827651861966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5929352816561809263.post-24183051528326145802009-07-05T15:47:56.366-04:002009-07-05T15:47:56.366-04:00Thanks, Craig. Yes, that moment was almost astonis...Thanks, Craig. Yes, that moment was almost astonishing. When Purvis comes into the room, I was wondering what he was going to do - so there was some nice suspense there. Bale certainly didn't show a tender side in <i>Terminator Salvation</i>.Richard Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12397053921647421425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5929352816561809263.post-70392986745180985652009-07-05T15:33:08.616-04:002009-07-05T15:33:08.616-04:00Nice write-up, and I'm glad you singled out th...Nice write-up, and I'm glad you singled out the scene where Bale breaks up the interrogation/torture of Cotillard and gently carries her out of the room. His finest and most tender onscreen moment in years, and perhaps offscreen too.Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01450775188328918558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5929352816561809263.post-44747820293467468602009-07-05T11:49:41.021-04:002009-07-05T11:49:41.021-04:00Thanks for the response. Yes, this film stands out...Thanks for the response. Yes, this film stands out because of the "lack of competition" more than its successes. I'd rather go back to see Mann's movie than any other film playing right now (more than some of the summer movies yet to come, I predict). It would be worthwhile going back to see if I still feel the same detachment.Richard Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12397053921647421425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5929352816561809263.post-34935355426289227622009-07-05T09:20:41.616-04:002009-07-05T09:20:41.616-04:00Good thoughts. I agree with the idea that we get c...Good thoughts. I agree with the idea that we get close to Dillinger all too late, and even then we're not that close. But this isn't unusual for a Mann film. As for Red, we know him as well as we know Hawkeye's brother in <i>Last of the Mohicans</i>. All that really matters in those scenes is that we know that these side characters matter to the main character.<br /><br />As for the score, I don't see any difference between the way <i>Public Enemies</i> uses and credits its music and the way <i>The New World</i> credits James Horner while 'quoting verbatim' Wagner and Mozart in some of its most significant moments.<br /><br />Overall, I'm still coming to terms with this movie and want to see it a second time. There's no question that it's one of the best movies of the year thus far, but at this point that says more about the lack of competition than the successes of this movie.Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.com