Dazzling....

Rating: 8/10 (24 October 2007)

Tom Cruise used to be so cool, even despite his overt narcissism. I think the last good role he did was in 'A Few Good Men'. Its been a downhill ride ever since, and it took Michael Mann to get a somewhat credible performance out of the guy. This film portrays Cruise as a ruthless , nihilistic and ultra-violent sociopath (wonder if Nicole Kidman wrote the script) who spews bullets and philosophy with equal ease. Cruise does somehow manages to ditch behind his usual confidence-lacking arrogance. In fact , he doesn't look OR feel like the annoying superstar we've known for years. There are moments where a chill will run down the spine of even the most jaded viewer. The assassin Vincent with his icy composure, forward momentum and cold, understated humor is one of the most genuinely frightening screen fiends we've seen in years, and even more astonishing is Cruise who inhabits the role with seeming ease. Vincent the assassin represents the end product of several ages of psychological evolution : the script presents him as an almost cyborg-like killer who does what he feels is necessary, seemingly without emotion, but we also see that Vincent is obviously highly self-motivated. He is in perfect control of his senses and intellect, he keeps his own counsel, and he is perfectly aware of how his ugly past has molded his present state of mind. In short, this is not a serial killer or an adrenaline junkie out for thrills ; such people are propelled mainly by an inner emptiness and a lack of awareness of their own motives. Whereas Vincent is highly self-aware and psychologically astute, and he is no stranger to the ambiguities of life. He is a career criminal, just like Neil McCauley (De Niro) in Heat. He does what he does because it is all he knows how to do, and because it pays well. He is a murderer for hire.
I don't know what made Mann choose the Thomson Viper digital camera for this film, but it simply works wonders. Because digital cameras are currently better suited for low lighting, there is not much artificial lighting, since the whole thing takes place at night. And the result is that for two hours, you are transported away, not to movieland, but to the sprawling urban landscapes of LA. This is distinctly NOT the LA of Heat - a dusty oil canvas - but a nocturnal, otherworldly LA where there are seemingly no bounds between mind and reality. The city seems to reflect the characters' minds, and the characters themselves portray a city on the brink of unconscious chaos. Violence lurking behind every false facade. No other film that I've seen seems to be so real AND dreamlike both at once.
Michael Mann's greatest talent is precisely as a PHOTOGRAPHER. This film doesn't have a realistic story (for one thing, Mann makes Cruise seem a lot smarter than he actually is), but he shoots it so well that it creates a believable illusion of reality. Collateral is not a film whose brilliance you notice on a first, or perhaps even a second viewing. Its not jammed with wall-to-wall action. It doesn't have frenzied camera movements or gimmicky '24'-style editing to compensate for a clueless screenplay. And to tell the truth completely, Collateral lacks even a competent story. But what Michael Mann has always been great at is conveying the FEELING, the sensation of being right there, of knowing those people in front of you. You will instantly recognize the characters played by Jamie Foxx and Jada Pinkett Smith. You see a window open into the lives of these individuals.