Mann's refreshing, smart and moving Biopic

Rating: 9/10 (9 April 2006)

09.04.06
M. Mann is really the best contemporary filmmaker. He balances entertainment so seamlessly with meaning. Whenever I watch one of his films I am sent into a spiralling obsession with his work, I head for the DVD shelf and watch the whole of his repertoire for the next couple of days. He is a perfectionist with a purpose, he tells honest and human stories with a craft of the highest level. He works with actors in a way that makes them inseparable from his films. After watching ALI I had to look up a picture of the real man. W. Smith's performance was so good i had forgotten he wasn't Ali himself. I watched it with scepticism, haunted by the poor quality of Rocky and enchanted with the brilliance of Raging Bull. Now that I've seen it I would rank this film alongside the latter. The boxing sequences are perfect and blend well with the drama. The structure is not usual for a Biopic, there are no flashbacks and no voice-over, no childhood scenes and no deathbed scenes. This is not a life story. It is a story within the life of a fascinating and heroic man. Mann's career is one that makes sense, he is clearly not chancing upon 'interesting' projects, he is dealing with subject matter with a consistent yet growing sense of fascination. I can't wait for Miami Vice.