Michael Mann ... one of the last truly great directors

Rating: Null/10 (15 April 2005)

Though I'm not sure that it's a concerted effort, Hollywood and independent movies these days seem to stand on opposite sides of a very tall and rickety fence: a movie is either entertaining, accompanied with all the traditional bells and whistles that is glorified eye candy. OR ... a movie is the celluloid parallel to watching a brick wall ... or maybe the grass growing. Characters contain lush, exuberant depth, but they're spiritless talking heads ... usually miscarried David Mamet rip-offs.
So what an uplifting feeling to have just finished watching "Collateral," Michael Mann's most recent film. As the audience, we get chills, spills and an outpouring of thrills. There's an interesting, well-developed script ... the razor-sharp timing of veteran director Mann ... and the facile performances of Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx. Perhaps there's more to be asked for in a movie, but I can't think of what that might be. "Collateral" is easily one the better recent movies on the market ... and I'll attempt to explain why that is.
But first ...
Max (Foxx) is a L.A. cabbie that has a debilitated mother in the hospital ... and futile dreams of owning a limo service. Vincent (Cruise) is a nefarious contract killer, assigned to dispatch five essential prosecution witnesses in a mafioso's trial. Their meeting inside the cab is at first banal, with the garden variety "where are you from" and "how long are you in town" dialog. Vincent divulges that he has to make a few stops during the night until his plane leaves at 6 a.m. He bribes Max to drive him around ... offering $600 for his services. During Vincent's first stop, however, a body falls onto the top of Max's cab. Max panics and Vincent unsheathes a gun ... acknowledging that he's not in town on business, but kills for a living. The movie details the events of their evening together. Max slow burns through panic, which leads to utter confusion ... into stark terror.
First, it has to be said that Tom Cruise truly is an excellent actor. Despite what some may think of him, Cruise has a talent that far exceeds the mainstream Hollywood fare. Not only that, there's a certain genuine gratitude he carries when not in a film. He is respectful of critics and generous to his fans. Yes, he has appeared in several movies that I've despised for good reason ... but never because of him, personally. In "Collateral," we get Cruise as an impersonal killer. His performance is like a meat clever thrust in a block of ice ... it's a Cruise we've never seen before.
Though I'm not as familiar with Jamie Foxx ... he has finally been given a role where his aptitudes have surfaced. He doesn't put on airs in front of the camera. Nor is he afraid to react with the frailty of a human being to freakishly bizarre circumstances. His paranoia appears real to us. He doesn't succumb to the "geek turned hero" pratfall, either. Foxx is real ... and I sincerely hope that he's given more chances to display his range as an actor.
And then there's Michael Mann ... a true god among directors. Tell me, folks ... through his entire filmography, has there ever been a BAD Michael Mann movie? I certainly can't think of one. He's given us "Thief," "Manhunter," "Miami Vice," "Heat" and "The Insider." Rather than the brassy computer generated theatrics of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, Mann knows how to spin a hearty yarn hinged on solid direction and storytelling. He relies on character development. Computer effects just aren't needed in Mann's universe. In "Collateral," he takes what was probably a decent script and carves out a complicated, yet masterful thriller. And I sincerely doubt I'd be writing this review now if the script had been in the hands of a lesser person.
In an interview with Cruise I read in a newspaper, he briefly hinted that Mann had written complex exposition regarding Vincent's character ... details about his life that are never revealed to us. My fanboy sensibilities are screaming for a prequel, based on the material Mann wrote for Cruise. Or ... at the very least ... a published version of Vincent's story.
Maybe not. Either way ... "Collateral" is a movie to be watched and rewatched. There's a great deal going on within the frame with just enough concentrated substance that ... like it or not ... leaves style as only a superfluous extra.