Do you figure this is the right thing to do?

Rating: 10/10 (7 February 2006)

Why is Heat such a great movie? Is it because of the breathtaking amalgamation of story, music, image, action and acting that makes every scene worth watching over and over again? The authenticity of the world of cops and robbers he portrays? The acting of Pacino and De Niro? I have watched the movie at least twenty times. So have many others on the forum. Why the fascination?
You can look at a masterwork by Rembrandt or Michelangelo endlessly and enjoy the beauty, the figures, the colors, the lightÂ… And many of us do. But once you 'get' what the work of art is all about, once you connect it to the great themes in life, one's own life, it becomes deeply touching. Often what it's all about is deeply buried in layers upon layers of craftsmanship and sheer beauty. One becomes fascinated, one feels strong emotions, but one has to dig deep to explain why. The greater the mastery of the artist, the deeper one has to dig. The richer the treasures deep beneath the surface. So Michael Mann's mastery, for all its perfection, is only underpinning something of a higher order.
In fact Heat has exactly the same essence as Ali, The Insider, Last of the Mohicans, Collateral and Thief. These movies, although superficially very different, are really quite similar in their core. They are all about making life-changing choices between different loyalties. Ultimate dilemmas. Heat is the most complex of all these movies in this respect and therefore in my opinion the greatest.
What makes Mann's characters so fascinating? They rise to the occasion when facing 'heat': extremely adverse and often violent circumstances. They all face dilemmas, life-changing choices. They need to do the right thing, no matter how slim the chance of success, knowing they have to give up something else which is a good thing too.
Vincent Hanna is not simply a workaholic. He gives up life as most of us know it (marriage, caring for his stepdaughter, 'barbeques and ballgames') because he knows he is such a gifted policeman that he can put away criminals behind bars, who will otherwise keep on killing the innocent people that haunt him in his dreams. But he can only defeat his adversaries if he is dedicated at the moments of truth. And he suffers for his dedication in all other realms of life.
Neil McCauley forgoes normal life as well to be a perfect criminal and never be returned to jail, but starts feeling the cost of that only after falling in love, against his principles. He knows he can only stay out of jail when not attached to anyone or anything. (Therefore his home isn't even furnished.) To him that is the right thing to do. See, the values of Mann's characters are not necessarily 'right' or absolute values. Criminals have values too and their dilemmas can be just as difficult. After falling in love he feels a dilemma. And becomes much more human, albeit on the other side of the law.
Why are some of the truly evil characters in Mann's movies so utterly evil? Because they are dedicated, but don't see the dilemma. They have chosen for their own ego, and pursue at any cost whatever drive they have, usually power and money (Van Zant, Insider's Thomas Sandefur, Thief's Leo), but alternatively perverse violence (Waingro) or revenge (Mohicans' Magua). They, directly or indirectly provide the 'heat' that make the more sympathetic characters have to choose whatever they think is 'the right thing'.
Heat is stuffed with life-changing choices. Once you pay attention, it seems as if almost every other line in the movie has a question mark attached to it. 'Check, charge or cash?', are the first words in the movie. Not exactly life changing, OK, but a hint of all the choices to come . 'You taking me to breakfast?' follows shortly afterward. Less trivial. Then, every character is faced with choices between loyalties.
All the most memorable moments in the film are about choices. Often very complex dilemmas. Charlene Shiherlis first chooses to betray her husband Chris to secure her son's future, but then when given the chance saves Chris's ass at the cost of probably never seeing him again. Neil drives through the tunnel with Eady on his way to freedom and ponders the idea to return and kill Waingro. De Niro's face shows the dilemma between loyalty one: getting away with his love, and loyalty two: revenge for Waingro's actions which have devastated his crew, with Chris wounded and on the run, Michael killed by Hanna in the shootout, Trejo tortured and mortally wounded (being subsequently put out of his misery by Neil himself) and Trejo's wife Anna violated and murdered. Neil simply cannot walk away from that. He calculates he can avenge his crew and get away afterward. But we later learn the presence of Eady at the hotel where Waingro is finished off, puts Hanna on Neil's tail for the final confrontation.
In short, Mann's movies teach us: doing the right thing isn't straightforward. The choices in life aren't obvious.To do the right thing, you will have to give up what is good too and feel great loss. Doing the right thing doesn't result in a happy ending. You will feel vindicated at best. You may even die in the process.
'I told you I was never going back'.