Christian Bale Public Enemies Press Conference
Was the weapons training more intense than anything else you've done?Christian Bale: "Well, it was quite quaint I have to say, because having been trained in many modern day weapons, the stances, the handling of the weapons they had back then, it's all outdated now. They still had this notion of a man does not require two hands to fire a handgun. It's not manly. So this sort of very old almost fencing style of hand on hip and pointing sideways with your gun, which you're far less likely to hit your target than the modern day styles of this. But at that time that was felt to be how a woman might maybe fire a gun but no man's going to be seen to fire it in that fashion, despite it being way more accurate."
"Also the Tommy gun was a revelation at the time. It's really what allowed Dillinger and his kind to thrive for the few years that they did. Suddenly automobiles, the V8 became very affordable. The Thompson submachine gun was available and resulted in the likes of Dillinger being able to go and hold up police stations to get their guns and their bullet proof vests, to be that brazen. But I think the guns as well of that time were sort of the last of the characterful guns. The Thompson still had so much wood on it. It still kind of smells good after you fire it. You do feel almost an affection towards the weapon. The modern day weapon is far more capable and lethal, but in my mind lack that character that the weapons seemed to have back then - as did the cars as well and the suits and everything. It was such a golden era."
How much do you look at what comes later in his life to play Purvis now?
Christian Bale: "I couldn't leave everything out. Naturally, the person is not considering or has not learned the lessons that they will in the future, but the thing that I couldn't avoid firstly was that I really became fascinated with Purvis. So regardless of whether it was relevant to the movie or not, I just really wanted to learn more and more about him and grew to have a great affection for him. I had a great deal. But I do think that it was important in the portrayal here to recognize that this was an era that haunted him for the rest of his life, and so to find the key of why that was and try to show that, but recognize my place in this movie. It's the story of Dillinger. I'm just a piece of that puzzle, so not to overdo my importance in the movie."
The scene in the cell, how was it working with Johnny Depp and feeding off of his energy?
Christian Bale: "Well, it was always very interesting going to work because so often we were at the actual locations where the various events happened. Again with that, we were in if not the actual holding cell that he was in, but in an actual jail. Throughout that, from the minute I walked on the set, Johnny was already locked inside of his cell and we just got to it. I enjoyed the scene with him and I like that scene very much, even though it is a fictional scene. They never did meet in that way. I liked that Dillinger apparently had this insight into Purvis and his ultimate disillusionment with the job which nobody else seemed to have, and that that did strike Purvis, even though he attempted not to show Dillinger getting to him in any way, that that did strike a chord inside of him."
What do you think of Dillinger after researching so much of Purvis? Should we admire him as a hero?
Christian Bale: "I think there's extremes within the character. I think that on the one hand, it's understandable that he became a folk hero due to the zeitgeist of the time and the inevitable celebration that you see as somebody taking it back from the fat cat bankers who had screwed over most of the population. However, you can't ignore that in doing that, even though he may never have been responsible for any innocent person's death, but what do you call innocent? A policeman who's only doing his job trying to defend, I would consider him innocent too. He did associate himself with the likes of Baby Face Nelson and he was a psychopathic killer. So the guy was no saint and the guy was no Robin Hood. He has this Robin Hood myth and I think he was a phenomenal marketing man. He was certainly charismatic and charming and there is that fascination with somebody who appears to know that their life is not going to last very long, so they're doing everything right there and then. He's going to live to the absolute fullest each and every day. There's truth to both sides but I think ultimately that just we have a nature where we are fascinated by the outlaw and if they just give us a few traits which are likable, we forgive them far more than we probably should. I think he certainly benefited through that through time."
Did you come to a conclusion about how these incidents shaped the consolidation of federal power?
Christian Bale: "Absolutely, and that was what caused the ire of someone of the stature of Nitti who eventually said, 'Cut this guy off.' I mean, look, Dillinger was a rolling stone. What he did compared to the actual operations that Nitti were in control of, they were small time. Like they say in the movie, Dillinger's huge bank job they're bringing in daily. Clearly, it was the embarrassment that Hoover felt at Dillinger's escapades, the public's appetite for him, that resulted in not only the law coming down harder on all criminals but equally it wasn't until Nitti kind of allowed the Bureau to get Dillinger that they were able to. I find that really fascinating. It really was. He had that much power. And even though probably most people nowadays, Capone is a far more famous figure than Nitti, Nitti as his successor was more successful. He was a far lower profile figure than Capone, but it speaks volumes about the era that it wasn't until Nitti decided he was happy for Dillinger to be handed over that the Bureau managed to get him."
