Collateral – 2004, Michael Mann
The best film I’ve ever seen that takes place over a short period of time with just a handful of characters, ‘Collateral’ is the kind of film you underestimate at first. It’s greatness is not comprehended in one viewing, and its not because its especially complex or non-literal. It just takes a bit of time to appreciate how well made it all is. The most striking thing about the film initially is how gorgeous it is. Shot in high-def, ‘Collateral’ is the best L.A. has ever looked on film; the best any city has looked on film; the best NIGHT has looked on film. The light, the reflections in glass, the dark blacks, the dirty concrete. The film is dripping with what a city really looks like at night, the colours, the depth, its all there. From the perspective of one cab in one night we get a better tour of the city than you could ever get in person. Mann’s camera is close in when it needs to be and is hanging out on skyscrapers when it needs to be. We see every side to L.A., the polished downtown, the classy nightlife, the sprawl induced poorer slum areas. It all looks its best, it’s most real. The city is as big a star as either lead actor, and all three do their jobs in a stunning fashion. Foxx is amazing here, we only know him for a night, but thanks to a series of events we really get to know who he is and how far he’s willing to go. To anyone who bashes Tom Cruise, I present this in the defence. A very professional contract killer, Cruise’s Vincent is sadistic and scary, almost inhuman when on the job, yet has a strange sense of humour and honour, to the point where he is a layered character, not the mindless killer he could have been. What makes the film is a great script, the way we quickly get to know Max the cab driver, warm to him, then watch as his world is shattered. The building tension in the cab as Max takes Vincent on his rounds, and the explosive climax, is very methodicaly played out. Max is hostile, docile, then numb, and through Foxx’s performance the shades of his emotion subtly change from the first stop to the last. As well as the main players, the supporting cast is great too, Mark Ruffalo’s detective Fanning is a character we don’t get to know too well, but one who we instantly like. He loves his job and he intends to stop what’s happening, even if his intuition is ahead of the rest of the police. Last but not least, as is the expected in a Michael Mann film, the music is amazing. We hear as many sides to L.A. as we see, and the use of Audioslave’s ‘Shadow on the Sun’ enhances the two best moments in the film. This is a tense, beautiful film, a masterpiece of pacing and character in such a restricted setting, both in the 3rd and 4th dimensions.
Best Moment: After a night at gunpoint, Max puts his life in perspective; and in a fantastic monologue from Jamie Foxx, improvises in a way even Vincent couldn’t have predicted…
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