Great movie and great performances

Rating: 9/10 (19 April 2005)

Michael Mann has been making epic action films for years, yet he has never really gotten his due as a director. While his latest endeavor, Collateral, didn't break the mold, it was certainly one of the crowning works of the year. Tom Cruise stars as Vincent, a contract killer making his rounds one fateful night in Los Angeles. When he offers a cab driver named Max (Jamie Foxx) $600 to drive him around for the night, things take a turn for the worst.
Collateral has one of the most original action screenplays in recent memory. Much of the movie is contained within the cab and the scenes outside of it are stylish and packed with emotion. Cruise delivers a strong performance out of his usual character as the silver-haired assassin. Months of training with gun-slinging definitely paid off for Cruise in terms of realism, especially during the club and alleyway scenes. There's never a point in this movie where you feel like you're watching Tom Cruise. It's always "Vincent" on the screen, and sometimes that's a hard thing for actors to pull off.
Foxx gives his second stellar performance of the year as Max, a shy, ineffectual cabbie with dreams of something more. While he earned most of his acclaim for a stunningly accurate portrayal of Ray Charles in the biopic Ray, he deserves just as much credit for his role here. Foxx really put in his background work, as evidenced by his Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
The nomination for Foxx was deserved, even though this was a starring role. It's obvious the Academy wanted to give him two nominations for his great work this year, so they categorized his performance in Collateral as "supporting," which often happens with successful movies. For example, Kate Winslet, nominated for her starring performance this year in Eternal Sunshine, was also a contender for a Best Supporting Actress role in Finding Neverland, even though she was the film's lead actress.
While the lead actors do give great performances in Collateral, the real star is Mann, who should have been recognized this year for his directorial work. Mann has a knack for finding that special angle in every place he films, be it Los Angeles or Africa. The shots of L.A. are brilliant and the pace and editing are magnificent. It is Mann's attention to detail that really makes this picture amazing. He specializes in giving his actors background information on feelings, emotions and past events not necessarily evident to the viewer. This makes every tiny detail and facial expression relevant and affecting. The audience always feels like there's something more going on in each character's head.
Mann has directed almost 20 films, but his only Oscar nomination for directing thus far has been for 1999's The Insider. Some of his best overlooked works were 1995's Heat, starring Al Pacino and Robert Deniro and 2001's Ali, starring Will Smith, Foxx and Jon Voight.