I think Johnny took Dillinger's relationship with his family as insight. The letters he wrote to his sister, niece, father, etc. were so heartfelt. I couldn't imagine a few others in his gang reading letters from home, let alone writing them. Dillinger's attitude toward his kin showed a completely different side to him. It's not the one painted by the media, the public, or especially the FBI. Besides his love for Billie Frechette, his genuine affection for his family is what makes him a real person and not an outlaw caricature. Perhaps Johnny used that loyalty to create a softness in Dillinger. I also hope Johnny was inspired by Dillinger’s love of books. Maybe Dillinger's avid reading was a comfort to a man with the same passion. Whatever knowledge gained, you really get the sense that Dillinger was a man lost.

This is a really interesting question because from reading Dillinger the Untold Story I got a sense of Dillinger as being a trickster, damaged by his youth and maybe a bit vulnerable because of it, full of love for the women in his life, and actually relatively harmless as criminals go. Johnny portrayed Dillinger as much harder, colder, dangerous, more calculating and more manipulative than I expected him to be after reading the book. I was especially surprised by his domineering treatment of Billie on the screen compared to what I had read, particularly when they first met and he seemed to be issuing orders to her instead of asking her anything. So I am not sure what Johnny took from the book for his portrayal. We know he read it (or at least owned a copy ).

Of course, I have no way of knowing what cuts might have been made during the editing and how much of Johnny's vision of Dillinger was set aside to make the action movie he was hired to make. I got the feeling that Johnny wasn't able to develop Dillinger as fully as he usually develops the characters he plays.

Johnny certainly portrayed Dillinger as being very smart and very charming, which matched the character of the man in the book. Other than that, I am not sure.......

In my opinion the film may not have portrayed Johnny's opinion of Dillinger at all. Mann seems to have wanted him shown as the dangerous bank robber that he was, and thought to only use the love story to show his soft side.
From Johnny's interviews where he says Dillinger didn't kill anyone, it seems he believed what the Dillinger family told him even over this book or Public Enemies. He did probably think he had to be a tough guy to survive prison and pull off the danger involved in robberies so he tried to show that side as well.
In both the books they try to show there wasn't always much honor among most thieves but Dillinger and his gang seemed to have it for each other. I think Johnny picked up on that and his love for Billy and his family.

Having not seen the movie (one of the few people on earth and the zone) I can only comment on the interviews and previews I have seen. John Dillinger was quite connected to his family and tried his best to take care of his father and siblings. Johnny Depp seems to be quite close to his family and cares for them both in love and monitary actions. Johnny has stated that his great-grandfather was a bootlegger at one time. Another connection on the outside of the law with alot of excitment and harrowing experiences. I am sure Johnny tried to connect to the personal side of Dillinger and well as the criminal side.

Very well said, nebraska! I had many of the same impressions when I first saw the movie. I expected a Dillinger who was a bit more... I'm searching for the right word... fun loving? Someone who kidded more and laughed a little easier. And was just a bit less brutal and domineering. Especially after Johnny said that he didn't believe Dillinger killed anyone. Maybe the difference can be explained by what's on the cutting room floor, or by Mann's vision of the Dillinger character, or by the type of movie Mann wanted to make. Or, maybe Johnny just saw him differently. It's really hard to say. Part of me wants to believe that Johnny, left to his own accord, would have created a very different Dillinger. On the other hand I also believe that if he felt that strongly about the portrayal being incorrect, he would have fought tooth and nail to make it "right". So, this will remain something I'll be puzzling over for quite a while. I will say this: reading both books and following the filming so very closely gave me a whole new appreciation for what Johnny means when he says that what happens after his bit is done is really none of his business.

I do think he pulled Dillinger's loyalty to his friends and his love for Billie from the book, as others have said. I also think that much of Dillinger's swagger and bravado probably came from this account.

I'm in complete agreement with you, ladies. From watching the film, I'd say the only reason Dillinger didn't kill more people was that his random sprays with the machine guns luckily didn't hit anyone. It was not the overly romanticized Robin Hood story I'd feared it might be. Dillinger was indeed a lot tougher and more violent than I'd expected.

I recently had this same conversation with a friend about the Letterman interview and Public enemies. I feel like PE re enforced Johnny's view that he was done when the filming ended and he had no control over the finished product. After seeing PE, I was astounded about the timeline being all-wrong and the wrong people killed at the wrong times etc. Since Mann and Johnny talked about the authentic locations being used I felt they would stick more to the real story. I wonder if this isn't why Johnny didn't make the remarks about Dillinger not killing anyone on Letterman. The film was about Bourroughs PE but Johnny was carrying around "Dillinger The untold story" while filming so its hard to think he didn't notice the discrepancies.

I agree Liz. I didn't mean to say the books were different but since Johnny was reading one at the time the facts would be more in his thoughts.

Definitely !