After the commercial failure and mixed critical reaction to the vastly underrated Ali (2001), Michael Mann returns to familiar territory-the urban crime thriller-with Collateral (2004). Coming off three grandiose epics in a row, the veteran filmmaker shifts gears with this lean, no-nonsense movie that harkens back to early films in his career like, Thief (1981). One has to wonder if the pressure was on Mann to make a more audience friendly movie after his last two failed to produce at the box office. Like the late Stanley Kubrick (of whom Mann is sometimes compared to), Mann has tried repeatedly to breakthrough to a mainstream audience. It would make sense then that he would cast Hollywood megastar Tom Cruise as one of the main protagonists. If there were any actor on the planet that could guarantee a sure-fire hit at the box office it would be Cruise (although, it didn't work out for Kubrick when he cast the actor in Eyes Wide Shut). However, Mann throws a potential spanner in the works by casting the actor as an amoral hit man. Would this scare off a mainstream audience?

Collateral is about three lonely professionals who are brought together over the course of one night. Max (Jamie Fox) has been a cab driver in Los Angeles for twelve years. He is anal-retentive about his cab as evident by the way he meticulously cleans the inside and out of it. His first fare is a beautiful assistant District Attorney by the name of Annie Farrell (Jada Pinkett Smith). The dialogue between these two people flows naturally as they talk about their respective jobs. Max charms her by figuring out what she does and talking about his dream of opening his own limousine service. She opens up and tells him about her insecurities with her high-pressure profession. Despite a premise that is steeped in the crime genre, Mann manages to keep things fresh and interesting by starting things off with an intimate conversation between two lonely souls who have met by chance.

After dropping off Annie, Max picks up his next customer. Vincent (Tom Cruise) tells the cabby that he is a salesman in town to visit with five clients. He offers Max $600 to drive him around the city. However, during the first stop a man crashes onto the roof of Max's cab. The charade is over and Vincent is forced to play his hand. He is actually a hit man hired to kill five key witnesses in an indictment against a Latin American drug cartel. He proceeds to intimidate and force the shocked cabby at gunpoint into helping him. The body count increases and this arouses the suspicions of Detective Fanning (Mark Ruffalo), a smart undercover narcotics officer who begins to piece things together. Soon, the FBI and representatives from the cartel come after Vincent and Max who realize that they will have to form an uneasy alliance if they want to stay alive.

Right away, Mann establishes a multi-ethnic Los Angeles that is rarely seen in Hollywood movies. In the first ten minutes alone, several different languages are spoken. Mann takes us on a tour of many different neighborhoods, from the high-rise corporate culture of the downtown core to the exotic culture clash of trendy Koreatown. In many respects, the city itself is a character and Mann constantly reminds us of this with several establishing overhead shots that show off the topography of L.A. Mann takes every opportunity to immerse us completely in the sights and sounds of the city that he knows all too well. Not since Blade Runner (1982) has such an ethnically and economically diverse vision of this city been depicted on film.

Over 80% of Collateral was shot utilizing the state-of-the-art Viper FilmStream digital camera. The look of Mann's film should be familiar to anyone who saw his short-lived (and little seen) television series, Robbery Homicide Division, which was also shot on digital video. As L.A. Takedown (1989) was a dry run, stylistically, for Heat (1995), so too was RHD for Collateral. With this new camera, Mann is able to bring out all kinds of depth and color during night-time scenes that wasn't possible before. He has made one of the best-looking films shot digitally in recent memory.

The pacing of Collateral is as precise as the beats of the eclectic soundtrack that populates the film. Mann knows how to expertly ratchet up the tension when it counts. When two cops pull over Max's cab (because of the damage incurred from the first victim) Vincent threatens to kill them unless Max can talk his way out of this tight spot. The suspense increases until it is almost unbearable and then relief comes flooding in once the encounter is resolved. Mann constantly keeps us on our toes by segueing from short, intense action sequences to quiet interludes that develop Vincent and Max's characters.

The film's most impressive action set piece is a memorably choreographed shoot-out at a night club as Vincent demonstrates just how efficient a killing machine he really is, shooting, knifing and breaking bones of anyone who gets in the way of his intended target. Mann amplifies every deafening gunshot and every snap of bone for jarring, realistic effect. It is a fantastically orchestrated chaos on par with Mann's other great action sequence, the famous bank heist sequence in Heat.

Tom Cruise expertly transforms himself into one of Mann's quintessential protagonists. Like Frank (James Caan) in Thief and Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) in Heat, Vincent is a consummate professional with an economical use of words. Cruise portrays Vincent as a cold-hearted killer who has no problem justifying what he does-after all it is part of the job-nothing more, nothing less. Cruise treads a fine line between calculated menace and slick charm. Every so often he hints at something else going on behind Vincent's eyes-a whole inner life that we only catch glimpses of. This is something he has done to a limited degree in Interview with a Vampire (1994) and Magnolia (1999) but not quite with the same intensity or in such detail as with this role. The risk in casting someone like Cruise is that he carries a lot of baggage with him. His face and voice are so recognizable that it is hard for him to disappear into a role. It doesn't take him long to shed his megastar persona and become Vincent. By the time he kills two thugs trying to rob Max with ruthless efficiency, there is no question that Cruise has become this character.

In contrast, Jamie Foxx provides the humanistic counterbalance to Cruise's amoral existentialist. He is obviously the audience surrogate but Mann does not hit the audience over the head with this fact. Max cares about what happens to the people Vincent kills and is horrified by his actions. Known more as a comedian, Foxx has shown in recent years, with Any Given Sunday (1999) and Ali, that he has the capacity for dramatic roles. His performance in Collateral is his most natural one to date. He abandons all of his usual shtick and creates a full-realized character that avoids the usual tired cabby clichés. Inactivity is perhaps Max's defining trait. He keeps telling anyone that will listen of his desire to open his own business and yet he has made little progress in the twelve years he's driven a taxi. This comes to the surface when he and Vincent visit Max's mother in the hospital. This is a pivotal scene where the presence of Vincent acts as a catalyst that transforms Max into a proactive character.

Yet, there is an emptiness to the lives of Annie, Max and Vincent. Mann constantly captures them in the vast empty spaces of deserted streets, back alleys and subway cars with his expansive widescreen aspect ratio. As Vincent constantly reminds Max, "Nobody notices." These characters are alienated by a cold and uncaring city. With the exception of Max's mother, none of these characters have any significant friends of family. What they do for a living is what defines them.

Collateral is a fitting addition to Michael Mann's distinctive filmography. It continues his thematic pre-occupations of isolated protagonists who have little time for personal relationships. It is also deals with another Mann obsession: transformation. In order to have any chance of surviving the night with Vincent, Max must change from being a passive character to one that takes an active role in determining his own fate. It is the exploration of such weighty themes, coupled with Mann's distinctive style that elevates Collateral from its generic conventions.

                                                                 © THE FILM JOURNAL 2004