Cruise and Foxx

Rating: 8/10 (24 October 2004)

Tom Cruise is superman as far as the American public is concerned. He is the typical everyman and that is why we love him so. He has the quality that everyone craves and he radiates the this-could-be-you-vibe like no other celebrity. In Collateral, he is the villain. Though still clothed in the everyman gray, his intentions and his heart are no longer as relatable. But yet, it's Tom Cruise, and everything he does seems to be relatable. Perhaps that's why he was the perfect choice for the anti-hero in this Michael Mann film.
Jamie Foxx is a nobody to the American public. But he's on his way up. Besides having a highly buzzed film, Ray, coming out this winter, he is playing the counter part to Tom Cruise. And he's acting Cruise off the screen!!!! He's subtle and natural and plays against Cruise's intensity like no other. Together they make an excellent on-screen couple with Cruise being showy and upfront and Foxx being low-key and passive. They are, together, one person. Sometimes it takes two people to be one and here is the perfect example. They complete each other.
Collateral is built on its script. Much of the film rests on the banter between Foxx and Cruise as they ride around LA in Foxx's taxi. Cruise has a few 'errands' to run and he's hired Foxx for the night. At first hesitant, Foxx eventually accepts. The plot truly is secondary and serves merely to give the actors something to talk about.
The city of LA plays itself and is lit with the colorful orbs you see in the ad with Cruise. They, like the city, appear almost to be a character of their own. They are in every scene and are the only actual witnesses to the night. No one else gets to see the relationship between these two halves of a man as they assume their position as a single person in the ending scenes.
Michael Mann's direction is superb. It pays attention to the details yet allows the broader aspects speak for themselves. He has composed a film of fast paced moments and small, slow conversations, each part holding its own in the big picture. There is something here that is not to be missed.
****/*****