"Collateral" Is A Human Thriller, A Cold-Toned Noir and A Moralistic Character Study All Rolled Into One

Rating: 8/10 (23 April 2007)

Director Michael Mann has many trademarks, most notably his use of colours, particularly blue. He also has a knack for making "bad guys" deal with their own personal anguish; hypothetically speaking when this is rolled together with the previously mentioned trademark Mann creates a vividly calming and transfixing image of a character's personal struggle. This is just proof that Michael Mann is one of the most innovative directors working in modern American cinema.
Max (played by Jamie Foxx) is a somewhat melancholy L.A. cab driver, a kind-hearted man who just wants to make some money and be able to offer his customers a smooth cabbie service. One night he picks up Vincent (Tom Cruise) who at first strikes the viewer as a mysterious businessman. Yet it quickly becomes apparent that he is actually a professional contract-killer. Max becomes the forced driver for Vincent and Vincent's psychopathic tendencies become more evident and cold-hearted as the film moves on.
The film holds some of the finest cinematography modern cinema has to offer, it is so vibrant and vigorous in style that it is impossible to keep you eyes off the screen. The beauty of it is how entrancing it is, blending both illusive misconceptions and realistic character-driven drama. The film is strongly presented by its bold "digital camera" affect, creating a believable atmosphere and emphasising the feeling of a drawn-out night. It is also apparent that the film has shades of noir etched onto the surface, creating a convincing vision of the viewer becoming a passenger in the cab. Collateral captures lighting perfectly, ranging from illuminating car headlights to the wide-stretching street lamps. There is such a fantastic amount of range to the camera work, which differentiates between close-contact shots, which focus on the emotions of the characters to overhead shots scraping the sprawling L.A. night. The editing is another strong area of the film. It is extremely slick and cut with razor-sharp elegance, plus the edition of some wonderfully fitting music. There is something very natural about the technical side of Collateral, reinforcing Mann's "auteur" ability and perceptive vision of Hollywood's crime genre.
The acting is dealt with a great enthusiasm and it is a shame the actors are working with what is a generally uneven script. Yet actors Jamie Foxx and Tom Cruise overcome the obstacle by delving inside their characters and both being cast as characters which are unusual to some of their other career choices. Both prove to have strong versatility, dealing with their characters emotions and personality with a simplistic ease and helping to move the film along at a respectable pace. Both actors add a consistent amount of dimension to their roles, helping the film to become a character-study and letting the viewer perceive their own view of the events taking place.
When revisiting Collateral I find it truly terrifying to how fast technology is moving in today's world. This may sound strange, but a lot of the technology in Collateral has already advanced leaps and bounds in the case of a few years. It is scary just how quickly our world is moving and how technology is a key part in most of our lives. Ironically, there is a scene in the film whereby Vincent expresses his formality on how short a person's life is. So is this an intentional example of subtext in the film, attempting conveying the speed in which the world goes by? It is questionable when you take into context how Collateral is a film which runs at an exceedingly fast pace due to its consistent level of thrills and capturing how fast time goes under stress. It is a shame that there are some flaws in the narrative, script and acting (from the extra cast members) because they sadly stop the film from gaining a true "masterpiece" status.
Collateral is Michael Mann on top-form, it is the different "cop vs. killer" story, one which goes against the expected formulaic pattern and so succeeds in creating what is a meticulous tour de force in modern film-making. Collateral is a film not to be missed and certainly comes close to being mentioned alongside some of Mann's superlative achievements.