Dead hero or live coward?

Dorff, Stephen Lang.
Director: Michael Mann ; Cinema: Rainbow town; Running time: 119 minutes; Type of film: Biographical gangster film
I approached the viewing of this film with far more anticipation than any other, recently. Knowing that the film purported and claimed for itself to be accurately biographical as far as historical records made possible I knew that it would evoke feelings of reminiscence. I was present and alive and aware at the place and the time the film depicts.
It is far more than coincidental that the film is set and the story it tells is of the 1930s. That which all Americans of a certain age call the Great Depression ravaged the lives of millions of Americans and was only ended by a travail most felt was even worse: the Second World War, from 1939 to 1945.
The film tells the story, in surprising detail and accuracy, of a man whose name has come into the American vocabulary, John Dillinger. Labelled Public Enemy No. 1 for the years he and his gang robbed one bank after another always in full daylight and never hesitating to kill those who attempted to interfere.
Equally well known and also incorporated into the current vocabulary are the names of the two men whose entire careers were influenced by their pursuit of this master criminal. John Edgar Hoover was the Chief of the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation). The man given the assignment to capture him was Melvin Purvis. These three names immediately and always evoke reminiscences from Americans of advanced age, as is your reviewer.
Not unexpectedly if regrettable a love affair has been tacked on, in the form and shape of Academy Award-winning actress Marion Cotillard. Excusable if the enormous expense of making such a film must be recouped by appealing to the widest swath of movie- goers.
Those who see the film may be as puzzled as was I by the choice of the actors to portray Dillinger (Johnny Depp) and his nemesis, the FBI’s Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale). They are to my eye the two most look alike actors in Hollywood. And, I confess, there were brief moments when I wasn’t sure. A lengthy re-creation of an era when so much, now taken for granted, in the area particularly of communication, was unknown. The police forces, in their usually failed efforts to combine their knowledge and presence in order to perform more effectively, were virtually (and hilariously reduced to the use of the local telephone booth.
Seen here in Harare coincident with the presentation of last year’s Academy Awards, I suggest it be noted and remembered for next year’s. highest recommendation.