#TomCruise as the villain. An unlikely #JamieFoxx as the hero. Some short scenes that are beautifully conceptualised and almost like standalone short films. Strung together in a distinctive visual style. A neo noir look with the cityscape of Los Angeles by night. And characters who have been thought through to the extent that you could even guess what each one would order for dinner. How about that?
ASHOK’s FIVE reviews a stylish 2004 production from #MichaelMann, streaming on #Netflix. Script writer #StuartBeattie puts together the story of two characters and a chase #Collateral. This is the story of Max (#JamieFoxx) who drives a cab on the streets of LA. The opening scene has him dropping off a lady attorney Annie (#JadaPinkettSmith) after an engaging conversation that depicts mutual liking. She hands him her card as an afterthought. Max’s next passenger is Vincent (#TomCruise), wearing a grey suit, stubble and grey hair. He has just landed in LA and wants a cab to ferry him around five locations before dropping him off at the airport. Vincent turns out to be a contract killer and Max looks to escape his clutches till they reach the finale that involves Annie and an all too familiar subway scene.
So let's discuss the collage of short film-like scenes. The opening scene between Max and Annie is a rather long one but throws up interesting facets of both characters and their motivations. It could well have been a short by itself. What it does though for the overall film is to establish the empathy that Max feels for her. Take another example - the hospital scene when Vincent insists that Max should visit his ailing mother. I think the mother knew that something was amiss but all three characters go through the motions as if everything was normal. Or the scene in the bar with Daniel (#BarryShabakaHenley) when he recounts the day #MilesDavis walked in through the doors.
Now look at the way the characters are built up. Max is the one with empathy but there is no purpose to his life. He wants to own a limousine company but that is about it. On the other hand, Vincent is the sociopath and apparently is in control but as he himself admits its all meaningless in the long term. Vincent tells Max “Life is what happens while you’re making other plans”; words espoused by #JohnLennon.
#MichaelMann builds characters who are not balck or white. Both are grey and have their own dark sides. Towards the end of the film, the headlights of the car catch a fox on the streets and that scene is symbolic of who the two men are really like. The film uses drone shots and other night scenes of Los Angeles by night, lit up in a neo-noir style that is visually very unique.
#Collateral is in a genre by itself. Besides casting against the norm, it has Mann’s characteristic strong dramatic tension all through and a heightened visual style. What is staggering though is that for a movie that was produced with 65 million USD, returned a whopping 220 million USD at the box office!
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