Character Relationship Map: Public Enemies

Characters

• John Dillinger (played by Johnny Depp) — protagonist

  John Dillinger is the central outlaw pursued throughout the film. He breaks his crew out of prison, leads bank robberies, escapes custody, and plans one final train robbery before fleeing the country....

• Melvin Purvis (played by Christian Bale) — protagonist

  Melvin Purvis is the FBI agent appointed by J. Edgar Hoover to lead the hunt for Dillinger after killing Charles Floyd. He uses fingerprints, telephone surveillance, informants, and armed ambushes to...

• Billie Frechette (played by Marion Cotillard) — supporting

  Billie Frechette becomes Dillinger's lover after meeting him at a restaurant and accepting his identity as an outlaw. She remains loyal despite police pressure, is arrested and beaten for refusing to...

• Baby Face Nelson (played by Stephen Graham) — minor
• Louis Piquett (played by Peter Gerety) — minor
• J. Edgar Hoover (played by Billy Crudup) — supporting

  J. Edgar Hoover is the FBI leader who promotes Melvin Purvis after the killing of Charles Floyd and assigns him to pursue Dillinger. He supports modern investigative methods and provides additional ex...

• Charles Winstead (played by Stephen Lang) — supporting

  Charles Winstead is an experienced federal agent with a military background who arrives to assist Purvis against Dillinger and the hardened gang. He pursues Dillinger through the woods, helps stop the...

• Tommy Carroll (played by Spencer Garrett) — minor
• Frank Nitti (played by Bill Camp) — minor

  Frank Nitti is connected to the Chicago Outfit whose associates refuse to help Dillinger. The FBI's prosecution of interstate crime threatens Nitti's bookmaking racket, so Dillinger's criminal relatio...

• Alvin Karpis (played by Giovanni Ribisi) — supporting

  Alvin Karpis joins Dillinger and the Barker gang in organizing a train robbery. Dillinger intends to use the proceeds to escape the country the following day, making Karpis part of the outlaw operatio...

• Anna Sage (played by Branka Katić) — cameo

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Melvin Purvis → J. Edgar Hoover (Professional Superior And Subordinate) — Hoover directs Purvis's federal assignment and receives its final report.

  Hoover promotes Purvis to lead the hunt for Dillinger, and Purvis later informs Hoover of Dillinger's death.

• Melvin Purvis → Anna Sage (Power Coerced Informant) — Purvis uses legal pressure to force Sage into cooperation.

  Purvis threatens Sage with deportation to Romania unless she arranges for Dillinger to hide at her brothel.

• Billie Frechette → Louis Piquett (Professional Lawyer And Client) — Piquett represents Frechette and helps communicate her wishes.

  Frechette's message to Dillinger is delivered through her lawyer, Louis Piquett.

• John Dillinger → Louis Piquett (Professional Client And Lawyer) — Piquett acts as the legal intermediary connecting Dillinger with Frechette.

  Dillinger receives a note from Frechette through her lawyer, Louis Piquett.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Melvin Purvis → Alvin Karpis (related)
• J. Edgar Hoover → John Dillinger (Conflict Institutional Adversary) — Hoover represents the federal institution pursuing Dillinger.

  Hoover promotes Purvis to lead the hunt for Dillinger and receives the report of Dillinger's death.

• Melvin Purvis → Billie Frechette (Conflict Interrogator) — Purvis is connected to the coercive investigation but also stops its violence.

  Purvis eventually intervenes with Winstead to stop the abusive interrogation of Frechette.

• Charles Winstead → Billie Frechette (Social Messenger) — He delivers Dillinger's final message to Frechette.

  Winstead visits Frechette in prison and tells her what he believes Dillinger's dying words were.

• Charles Winstead → John Dillinger (Conflict Pursuer And Target) — Winstead is both an active pursuer and the witness to Dillinger's final moments.

  Winstead pursues Dillinger through the woods and later kneels beside him after he is shot outside the theater.

• Melvin Purvis → Charles Winstead (Alliance Investigative Partners) — Winstead becomes one of Purvis's principal operational partners.

  Purvis asks for experienced agents, after which military-trained intelligence officer Winstead arrives to assist him.

• John Dillinger → Anna Sage (Social Acquaintances) — Their social connection allows law enforcement to locate Dillinger.

  Anna Sage is described as one of Dillinger's acquaintances, and he goes out with her before the final ambush.

• John Dillinger → Alvin Karpis (Alliance Robbery Collaborators) — Karpis joins Dillinger's final major criminal operation.

  Dillinger organizes a train robbery with Alvin Karpis and the Barker Gang before planning to flee the country.

• John Dillinger → Frank Nitti (Alliance Criminal Associates) — Their criminal connection collapses when Dillinger's activities become dangerous to Nitti's interests.

  Dillinger learns that Nitti's associates will not help him because federal prosecution of interstate crime threatens Nitti's bookmaking racket.

• Tommy Carroll → Baby Face Nelson (Alliance Escape Partners) — Their escape demonstrates a direct operational partnership.

  After the failed hotel ambush, Baby Face Nelson escapes with Tommy Carroll.

• John Dillinger → Baby Face Nelson (Alliance Robbery Partners) — They cooperate in a major bank robbery despite their violent criminal environment.

  Carroll persuades Dillinger to rob a Sioux Falls bank with Baby Face Nelson.

Story Analysis

A charismatic outlaw's pursuit of freedom and love collides with the expanding power of federal law enforcement.

Plot Progression

1. The Prison Breakout — Dillinger infiltrates the Indiana penitentiary and frees his crew, but the escape costs the life of Walter Dietrich. The gang reaches a Chicago safe house and begins operating again.
2. Love And Pursuit — Hoover places Purvis in charge of the federal hunt and equips him with modern investigative methods. Dillinger meets Billie Frechette, whose loyalty becomes central to his private life.
3. The Criminal Collapse — The gang is arrested in Tucson, but Dillinger escapes Crown Point using a fake gun. Nitti's refusal of support and the disappointing Sioux Falls robbery leave Dillinger increasingly isolated.
4. The Lodge And The Losses — Purvis extracts the gang's location from Carroll and launches the Little Bohemia ambush. Dillinger escapes, but his associates are killed and Hamilton's warning deepens his conflict between crime and...
5. The Final Betrayal — Dillinger plans one last robbery and hopes to reunite with Frechette, but her arrest and imprisonment frustrate his plans. Purvis coerces Anna Sage into arranging the theater trap that ends Dillinger'...