Bale's character may not dominate much of the screen, the actor makes the most of his time, effectively conveying the inner conflict of a man charged with bringing an outlaw to justice by any means necessary but struggling to do things properly and lawfully. The rest of the cast is colorfully diverting enough with their abbreviated bursts onto the screen, and their skill is evident during the last section of the film when Dillinger finds himself out of jail and facing a world in which his brand of lawlessness is no longer tolerated by a public at large.
And while there are a handful of lines the characters share on screen, Mann is known for letting his leads speak with lead. There are several expertly crafted moments ablaze with the spark of Tommy guns and punctuated with only the sound of bullets piercing concrete, metal and occasionally flesh. But Public Enemies is not only stunning during its battles, as Mann is a master of the palette as well, orchestrating each scene with such coordinated care that it's easy to see that we are in the hands of someone devoted to the craft of filmmaking: the metallic grays of the jail houses, the linen whites at the horse track, each set has been designed and harmonized with the utmost care.
The only disorienting feeling of watching Enemies is having to watch it through Mann's HD lens. As a proponent of digital cameras for many years, there is an odd sensation of watching a period piece through the detail of high definition. While some of the backgrounds are striking, it's attention of every pore of its actors and every thread of their clothing awkwardly juxtapose and era which we have become accustomed to watching through the grain and grit of weathered footage.
Still, it is not enough to detract from the overall impact of the film, which, while perhaps not reaching the operatic heights of the auteur's best work (Heat, The Insider), still makes for one of the better choices of summer cinema so far this year.
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