Michael Mann - master of the urban thriller

Rating: Null/10 (9 September 2004)

An unoriginal idea for a thriller taking place in the most oft-used location for an action film next to NY is here placed in the hands of Michael Mann, a talented filmmaker responsible for such well-crafted dramatic thrillers as "Manhunter", "Heat", and "The Insider". Unlike his earlier films, here he experiments with a fairly formulaic plot, but lays it on so thick with style, great characterization and brilliant acting that within 15 minutes of the film's opening one forgets that they may have seen this plot before. "Collateral", a hostage-and-hit-man thriller taking place on the mean streets of LA, in fact becomes more of a morality play than a simple action thriller, at least up until its final minutes. The familiar story is salvaged by a tense atmosphere, a script ripe with great characters and the magic hand of Michael Mann for crafting gripping action sequences wherever required.
Many things happen as the dark blanket of night descends upon the City of Angels. An older man, Vincent (Tom Cruise), dolled up in dark sunglasses and a gray suit arrives at LAX and bumps into another man with whom he exchanges briefcases - we know immediately that this is not his first time to Los Angeles; a younger cab driver, Max (Jamie Foxx) gets set for the evening grind, preparing to cart around a multitude of characters and getting friendly with pretty clients by taking them on much faster routes throughout the city - we become immediately aware that this is a lonely man who has been on the job for a long time. Neither expects that their paths will ever meet, and when they finally do, the night falls out of their individual control as a number of meetings and incidents takes them both on a wild ride that forces them to question their morals and values.
Vincent welcomes himself into Max's cab and touts himself on a real estate broker in town for one night to close a deal. Impressed with Max's ability to travel more efficiently between points A and B, he employs him for the night as his chauffeur in six Ben Franklins. Max is uneasy about this, but finds it difficult to resist Vincent's charm and a huge payroll in cash. Reluctantly, with cash in hand, he agrees to transport Vincent to 6 clients before the night is out.
Waiting in the alley of an apartment block while Vincent goes inside to deal with his client, he remains in the cab finishing off his dinner when something happens that he never would have expected - the dead body of a adult male falls on the roof of his cab. Taken aback by this strange experience he jumps out of the cab and frantically informs Vincent of what has just occurred. "He just fell on the cab! I think he's dead" "Good guess," Vincent answers, "I shot him. Bullets and the fall killed him." By allowing Vincent to hire him, Max has signed a death warrant as he soon discovers that he is the personal chauffeur for a hit-man on assignment to off six (well, five left) witnesses in a drug trial. He attempts to release himself from this terrible predicament, but Vincent is simply too intelligent for him and will not let him go until he has finished his work. Max does what he can to reason with him, but gradually discovers throughout the night that he is not dealing with a charming businessman, but a predator who pounces on his victims like a lion and does not let go until he has finished them off.
Boasting a series of tense encounters and thrilling action sequences, Michael Mann is given fantastic material to work from in a clever, punchy script by Stuart Beattie. An unlikely pair, Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx overcome their respective Hollywood reputations and succeed in portraying two characters of conflicting morals and social statuses who find themselves increasingly at odds with each other over the length of the film. There is fantastic chemistry between these leading men in a film that is certain to provide a turning point in both of their careers. Cruise succeeds unbelievably well at portraying a cold-blooded hit-man who manages to get under the skin of his foil and the audience at the same time. Conversely, Jamie Foxx is equally impressive as an innocent young man who for 12 years has kept his dreams of owning a limo company at bay and is forced to confront them in the guise of a predator who coldly advises him that his own morals exceed his. Vincent is a killer making a living through what he's good at - Max lies to his mother about starting a limo company even though he has spent the last 12 years driving a cab.
In addition to these stars, the film boasts a multitude of memorable cameos, notably Javier Bardem as Felix, the drug lord whose guilt Vincent is trying to protect; Irma P. Hall as Max's ailing and naive mother; and Barry Shabaka Henley as a jazz musician who makes small talk about Miles Davis with Vincent shortly before he gets offed. Michael Mann has assembled a cast with excellent chemistry, bookended by fantastic cinematography and gripping, almost poetic action sequences. The shootout in an Asian nightclub is a particular standout, as Max and Vincent crawl through the club looking for an Asian crime boss whilst dodging a full house of young people gyrating to the sounds of "Ready Steady Go" by Paul Oakenfold.
Mann's use of a hand-held digital camera is unusual for a film of this variety, but it functions well - it provides an element of naturalism to a city that, while hellacious, is as real as it gets. A wonderful shot about 3/4 of the way through the film of 4 coyotes crossing a downtown street is one of the most compelling moments of the whole film - unexpected, and yet gripping for both the film's characters and the audience.
"Collateral", although it fails to deliver at its ending, is a tense thriller that does exactly for the audience what Vincent does for Max - lodges itself under your skin and scars you, even for hours after the credits roll. 4 stars on a five star scale.