MANN of the moment.

Rating: 9/10 (17 September 2004)

MICHAEL MANN is not the prolific type a la TAKESHI MIKE but when he strikes he leaves a mark, is not the stories neither the characters is the style that pours from every single frame of his movies that makes him one of the most respected filmmakers alive. Three of the best movies of the nineties are gangsters related, to chose between them would be as difficult as choosing between REVOLVER, the WHITE album or ABBEY ROAD, so different so unique, I will always go for the dark horse that is HEAT anyway because of the strange sense of being presented something that is real. COLLATERAL is the story of Max (FOX) a dreamer trapped in a cab that is going to have the ride of his life when Vincent (CRUISE) steps in with an offer he can't refuse, 600 dollars, 5 stops, one night. This tale has it's flaws as did the third act on HEAT but those are forgiven when the picture is taken as a whole, the eternal struggle between story VS rhythm. One of the right moves of the movie is the casting against the type, we get the comedian playing the straight man and Mr fantastic goes in the shoes of the hit man making everyone but the police sympathetic towards the audience. CRUISE pulls it off majestically shooting bullets and one liners like there is no tomorrow, the silk grey suit with hairstyle to match didn't hurt either and he ain't no punk, articulated, cultured and has a point, sometimes one too many. The best description of Vincent comes from CRUISE talking about himself "I never act in terms of what people will think" that is embrace by his character and made a philosophy of life. Is not the first time that MANN's makes us like the bad guy, in fact he has made it usual themes, from McCauley in HEAT to Hannibal Lecter in MANHUNTER, whose BRIAN COX portrait is consider to this very day the best by many, we fight our own devils to discern what is right from wrong. The cast hides a couple of surprises, the bad , the roadrunner chasing the coyote is MARK RUFFALO, closer to a Mickey mouse impersonation whose face reads I got wood all over, the good, JAVIER BARDEM enters the movie frightened as the Hollywood outsider but finishes on top his five minutes of glory and the ugly... PETER BERG. STUART BEATTIE, the writer, considered ROBERT DE NIRO for the part of the TAXI DRIVER but that idea was dropped early on because he was considered too old for the role or maybe is just because he would have blown CRUISE out of the water "you talking to me". MANN shifted the story from NY to LA, where night-clubs are guarded by men with guns and bullet proof vests and nobody knows anybody, asking for help will get you in more troubles you can handle... bringing us the "funniest" and most satisfying scene of the film, the saddest is jazz scored. Shoot almost entirely on digital, LA night looks great giving great expectations to the format. Now to confuse you all I'll reveal that COLLATERAL ends where HEAT starts and begins where the other ends, deja vu... I Ching, whatever man we got a roll with it. My movie of the year.*****