In Michael Mann’s “Collateral” (2004) you know that the city at night is a different beast, a living, breathing entity that has a completely different feel than during the day.
This is something that Martin Scorsese’s “After Hours” (1985) also knows, since people do not behave the same way at night.
The rules are different.
Max, the taxi driver played by Jamie Foxx, has seen it all, or at least he thinks so. The time he spends in his taxi, which he drives with pride and care, aims to raise money for a true dream that awaits him.
Until then, it’s momentary pleasures and welcome connections, like the wonderful exchange he makes with a lovely woman (Jada Pinkett-Smith) near the end of his shift. It seems that Max, despite how simple and disciplined he is in his profession, is doing well.
Things seem to be working out, as his occupation allows him to inch toward where he wants to go in life… and then Vincent (Tom Cruise) gets into his taxi. As we quickly discover (although the opening scene and trailers tipped us off), Vincent is a professional assassin, and Max is now the hostage and unwilling companion to Vincent’s busy night of assignments.
IMPORTANT FACT: “Collateral” obtained an impressive 220 million dollars worldwide, the most for any Michael Mann production. His 2009 film, “Public Enemies,” came in second with $217 million worldwide.
Stuart Beattie’s script became famous for the revolving door of actors who courted the project, supposedly gave it their all during table reads, and then abandoned it. My favorite almost couple was when Cruise almost had Adam Sandler as his co-star.
Considering the quality of his dramatic work, I suspect Sandler would have been wonderful. However, as much as this is another ideal vehicle for Cruise (more on that later), Foxx is notable.
Foxx, who came out the same year he won the Oscar in “Ray,” wonderfully plays Max as a kind, wise and vulnerable man. Max won’t admit that he’s stuck in a rut until he must take action against a passenger who might just be the devil.
I don’t mean that literally…in fact, it could be taken that way.
Cruise uses his smile, intense gaze, and presence not as an invitation but as Vincent’s way of holding Max in his hands. Cruise has been exceptional in two previous films, specifically in “Rain Man” (1988). Here, the contrast between the two characters and acting styles creates an electric couple.
michael mann #BOTD reviewing a scene with Tom Cruise for Collateral (2004). pic.twitter.com/espsuzu9mf
—Tico Romao (@Tico_Romao) February 6, 2023
“Collateral” is surprisingly funny, though it’s beautiful and melancholy enough to suggest that it’s taking place in the same world (if not just a few streets down) as Mann’s “Heat” (1995). It’s also an existential film that explores how random meetings can create lasting contacts or, in this case, a form of unwanted capture.
For example, Vincent almost took a different taxi. We gasp in retrospect, knowing how close Max is to never meeting the worst client of his life.
Some moments seem frozen in time, like when Max and Vincent notice a wolf crossing an empty street and the sustained glance they give each other while Vincent is busy murdering a lot of people in a crowded room.
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This last sequence, set to Paul Oakenfold’s “Ready Steady Go,” is a tremendous piece. However, while this action highlight and third act make it a chase thriller, much of “Collateral” is a dialogue-driven character piece, more of an art film than simply action.
Some of this is slow enough that the tension dissipates in the second act, but the actors and Mann’s remarkable staging of the violent confrontations bring it back to life.
While Mark Ruffalo, Javier Bardem and Pinkett-Smith are excellent in this, the film belongs to Cruise and Foxx.
Vincent is a wonderful villain because of how much we don’t know about him. At one point, he tells Max an anecdote about his father that introduces him to a delicious secret. I still wonder if Vincent is lying about his father.
Another source of mystery I still think about: some complained about Vincent’s strange choice to have silver hair, but I wonder if that’s a façade, too. Like a diabolical seduction, Vincent gives Max a confidence and arrogance he would otherwise lack, first when Max impersonates Vincent and then when he finally confronts him.
The two share a dark kinship as people who are very good at what they do but no one notices them.
“Collateral” is episodic, to be sure, but scene after scene, it gets better as it goes along. There is a sequence in a jazz club that is perfectly written, performed and staged.
Three characters lose themselves in the joy of each other’s company, until one of them announces that he is there as an angel of death.
Something I love about Mann’s films is how, no matter how big or small the role, he clearly loves his characters.
The technology on display is, of course, dated, as foldable phones are on the horizon. Some of the soundtrack choices are dry, such as the use of a Vangelis deep cut from the soundtrack of “1492: Conquest of Paradise” (1992).
Of course, I’m picky, as this small but sensational work by one of our greatest living filmmakers has aged well. Beattie’s script is the best, as it could easily have been a B-movie, like “Cellular” (2004) or “Phone Booth” (2003).
In Mann’s hands, it’s dark poetry about two souls who, in an ideal world, should never have met.