4 minute read
Film Review: Collateral
Where To?
By Tadhg Curtin
A cab driver picks up an interesting passenger and has a night to remember in Michael Mann’s cracking, LA set thriller, "Collateral" (2004)
How the story of "Collateral" came to be is an interesting one. Australian screenwriter Stuart Beattie was only seventeen when he took a cab home from Sydney airport. It was on that ride that he had the idea of a homicidal maniac sitting in the back of a cab, with the driver nonchalantly entering into conversation with him, trusting his passenger implicitly. He put his idea down on paper, revised it over the years, and it finally made it to the big screen in 2004 courtesy of director Michael Mann.
Jamie Foxx plays a cab driver who, while on duty, finds himself the hostage of an engaging contract killer - Tom Cruise, as he makes his rounds from hit to hit during one night in Los Angeles.
Other than New York, LA is quite possibly the most photographed American city in the medium of cinema. And no one has photographed LA like director Michael Mann has. I have talked about his masterpiece Heat in a previous issue, the literal cool look of that movie; Los Angeles was captured on film in both day and night time. But here, he implemented the use of digital photography for a specific reason; to capture LA’s skyline at night
. It’s a hot topic, the idea of digital vs film and which is better but film cannot capture the night sky the way digital does here. I am 50/50 when it comes to digital. It really is a different feeling watching something shot on digital; often it feels like looking at something out of a window. Digital can be quite stark compared to film’s lush look. Incidentally, 20% of this movie was shot on film; the nightclub sequence.
Outside of the technical aspects, there’s some great acting talent on show here. Foxx and Cruise can play confidence with such ease but here Foxx is playing something of a loser. It was really interesting seeing Cruise with that platinum white hair. It was such a different look. Cruise is a man that seemingly doesn’t age but here we saw an older Cruise character that was jaded and cynical. Cruise is such a magnificent star. He commits to the role 100% as he always does. Just look at the scene where Crusie performs a quick draw with his gun when retireving his suitcase back from some thugs. Apparently his tactical draw is so good that it’s used by experts in lessons for handgun training. That’s the commitment of Cruise but its also the Mann’s commitment to authenticity.
The rest of the cast are great too. Views on Jada Pinkett Smith these days are varied in the wake of her husband Will at the 2022 Oscars but she’s terrific as a lawyer Foxx encounters. Mann has talked about how she can win over a person with her eyes. I don’t disagree. It’s also funny to see a pre Hulk Mark Ruffalo in cornrows.
"Collateral" was a terrific return to form for the Michael Mann fans love. The action is superb and it moves at a great pace. The movie becomes more than just a cat and mouse thriller. It has a existential quality, reflecting on regrets and roads not taken, the seemingly nihilistic quality of the value of life; how we can value some more than others. It will thrill you and make you think at the same time. Buckle up for a terrific ride.
