When my wife and I pulled up at the Socorro Cinema to watch Public Enemies, Michael Mann's rendition of the John Dillinger story, starring Johnny Depp, we noticed a school bus out front. We scratched our heads and said, "hmm, wonder what's up with the school bus?" Well, as the bus began unloading a gaggle of big, hulky young men adorned with UTEP t-shirts and paraphernalia, we realized that it's that time of year again - the UTEP (University of Texas at El Paso) football program is here in Socorro for its annual fall training pilgrimage. We figured we might be in for a rowdy night at the Socorro Cinema; not only because they were football players, but also because it was the largest crowd we've ever seen there!

One of the training staff mentioned to us, "I hope the guys don't spoil the movie for you" apparently concerned that a bunch of football guys might get a bit boisterous during the showing. We assured him we'd be okay, but then another gentleman - presumably the coach - said to us, "go right ahead, we've got your tickets covered." Very nice of them, and we thanked him kindly. He drew the line at popcorn though, telling us we were on our own there. Fair enough!

Now, as to the film, Public Enemies starring Johnny Depp and directed by Michael Mann; I had low expectations going in for a couple of reasons. One, I must confess, was simple ignorance: I knew very little about the film, the director, or the subject matter (although as a kid I remember watching movies about some of the old time gangsters like Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, Baby Face Nelson, Bonnie and Clyde, and the like). So, going in, I figured it was once again going to be a poor film but it was "somethin' to do" in Socorro, and we like to subsidize the theater so that it stays in business. The last thing Socorro needs is for our lone screen to go away, so we often go to films even if we aren't excited about them. Having said that, however, there are times when we've wanted to get a petition together to ask the owner to run the occasional independent film.

Johnny Depp played John Dillinger, depression era bank robber extraordinaire. The film was surprisingly well done from a cinematic perspective. I particularly liked the many tight shots and closeups of the characters' facial expressions, depicting the emotions and grit of both the gangsters and the law enforcement officers involved in this true to life crime story. Mann did a fine job in that regard. Of course, as usual, there was too much violence, and we believe (and studies have shown) that exposure to violence desensitizes folks to violence in real life; however, in this case one could argue that it was "historically accurate" in the sense the Dillinger was - in real life - involved in many a gun battle. So, the violence was, if not palatable, at least understandable. Our other political beef with the film is that it, like many other films in this day and age, seemed to glorify the gangster mentality (Dillinger was certainly played up as a "cool cat" with hip music accompanying many of his crime sprees in the film).

We'd recommend against children seeing the film, on these grounds, but adults may find the story compelling and interesting. The football players certainly did; they were surprisingly well behaved during the entire movie, with only the occasional comment here and there by the peanut gallery. Typical teenage boys, it seems, despite their intimidating physical statures.

We won't delve into the story line too much, to avoid spoiling it; however, many of you know already that the law always catches up with gangsters - though they may cheat fate for a surprisingly long time before it happens. Despite our political and social concerns for this film, the picture was well made and well acted. We'd give this film a thumbs up, rating it at 3.5 peppers out of a possible 5 on the Socorro News red or green chili pepper scale.