Public Enemies, 2009 - Film Analysis

Synopsis

Based on a true story. Set in 1933, Chicago, during the fourth year of the great depression of America, bank robber John Dillinger is wanted by the feds (F.B.I.) for a series of bank robberies. However, Dillinger enjoys his crime and couldn't image doing anything else which would make him happier. Eventually, Dillinger is betrayed by an acquaintance who knows exactly were to find him on a specific night.

This tracking shot is an interesting way to open the scene of a bank robbery. This is because you can see the facial expressions of the men as they enter the bank. They keep their expressions plain but in thought as they need to follow their plans to rob the bank but they don't want to act to much out of the ordinary as they enter so that nobody immediately suspects anything.

You can see the reflection of some artificial light on the marble surface in this screen shot. This means that there are artificial lights on in the bank. However, we can clearly see that it is the daytime because the bank is open to the public. The artificial lighting just adds that bit more light to the customers so that they can clearly see what they are reading or signing or paying, etc. It allows there to be no dark shadows in the room.

I really like this high angle shot which shows the whole main floor of the bank. It is an effective way to establish the setting. 

In this screen shot, you can see slight shadows and the lightness of the natural lighting which falls onto the floor and desks. This suggests that the robbery is taken place during the day. Another aspect that suggests that the bank robbery is taken place during the day is the fact that there are many bank customers in the bank. This means that the bank is open to the public when the bank is robbed. 

I particularly like the editing in these following three close up shots. 

In the first shot the mans face is in focus with the man in the background blurred out. This is to show the audience that their focus point should be on the man's face as he tries to get the attention on the other man to warn him that the police have turned up.

The next shot then blurs out the mans face and instead focuses on the man behind him. This is to show the audience that the man has acknowledged his warning.

The next shot then blurs out the man in the background and focuses on the man's face once again. This is to show the audience that their focus needs to be on the man's face again as he is planning his plot to prevent them from entering the bank and arresting his fellow bank robbers. 

This next shot does the same as the previous shots although this time the shot doesn't focus on the man's face (the lead bank robber John Dillinger). This is because the focus is on the bank manager behind him as he is forced to fill up a bag with money for the bank robbers.

I think that this high angle camera shot is really clever because it concludes the bank robbery. When the bank robber gang first entered, the bank, a high angle shot of the bank was shown to help establish where they were. This high angle shot helps to establish their leaving the bank as you can see all of the bank robbers leaving together at the same time along with some hostages so that they can escape from the police.

Bank Robbery - Clip

In this clip, we are able to get a good look of the types of costumes which that bank robbers would wear in the 1930s. Each of the men wore a smart suit with a long coat so that they could easily hide their big machine guns. They all had a hat on as well which was most probably to help blend into a crowd as most men would wear a hat of they wore a suit. The hat also helps to cover up their hair and even block parts of their face out at certain angles. As security is a lot more high now from the use of CCTV cameras, etc, it means that modern bank robbers will have to cover themselves up more now so that they can't be identified. For instance, they would wear balaclavas so that their faces couldn't be seen, gloves so their fingerprints can't be tracked and usually some sort of dark tracksuit as they are easy to move in which allows them to get away from the police easier.

Showing their faces in a bank robbery in the 1930s wouldn't have been such a big deal because there wasn't any such thing as a CCTV camera which would pick up exactly who they were. This made banks a lot more vulnerable to bank robberies. There are lots of CCTV cameras around in our modern day banks because they make it easier to pick up any suspicious activity and show exactly what the criminals look like.

The main safe of money was only locked up only by a lock and key. This made the money access quite easy. Nowadays, the bank's money is a lot more protected. For instance, the main source of the banks money is locked by a top security passcode and behind strong metal doors. 

The accompaniment for this clip has been used effectively as I feel that it adds a bit more tension and suspense to the bank robbery without it being too overpowering. However, it is non-diegetic which means that the characters cannot hear it.  They can only hear sounds such as the gun fire. The music is at its loudest at the beginning and end of there clip. I think this is really effective because it opens up the scene and ends the scene to. The music at the end is a bit more relaxed and has a glorifying sense to it because for the bank robbers, it has been a successful bank robbery. At the beginning the music is more of a drone which is the start of the building tension of the bank robbery. When the bank robbers begin to fight with the bank staff and the customer, the music quieten downs but still plays in a low key in the background which holds the suspense of the scene together. 

This screen shot helps to establish the year of which the film is set. We already know that this film is set in 1933. Because of this all of the clothing styles, cars, buildings, etc, have to match up to this. In this screen shot, you can clearly see a few old fashioned 1930s cars including a 1930s police car. This police car doesn't have the flashing lights and speed which our police cars have today. In the 1930s they would turn up at events such as bank robberies in large numbers with each policeman armed with a gun and a baton.