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Review by Dustin Putman
2½ stars out of 4
For a summer release, one coming out amidst an onslaught of special
effects-laden action and sci-fi films, "Collateral" is a challenging
thriller for adults, puppeteered by classy filmmaker Michael Mann
(1999's "The Insider") and aided by his know-how of ratcheting suspense
and intrigue out of even the most quiet of moments. There are real
ideas and themes explored here—the notion that human nature demands
people to not pay attention to what doesn't concern them, the realization
that one's lifelong dreams for the future are slipping out of their
grasp through the cruel passages of both time and inertia—rather than
just an excuse to parade out violence and cheap thrills in the name
of entertainment. "Collateral" gets all of this just right, but takes
a detour in the third act that is disappointingly more conventional
than the plot deserves. Ultimately, it concludes being less than the sum of its parts.
On a seemingly ordinary evening in Los Angeles, mild-mannered cab
driver Max (Jamie Foxx) gets a shot at fate when he picks up Annie
(Jada Pinkett Smith), a beautiful and intelligent lawyer on her way
to clock in some late-night hours as she prepares for an upcoming
case. They strike up a conversation, impersonal at first but more
playful as they get acquainted with each other, culminating with Annie
offering him her business card as a sly come-on. Almost immediately
afterward, the sharply-dressed, gray-haired Vincent (Tom Cruise) steps
into Max's cab, presenting him $700 if he will chauffeur him around
the town as he makes a few pit-stops. It is an offer Max can't refuse,
and a mistake that soon has him a veritable prisoner at the hands
of Vincent, a contract killer with five specific targets to do away
with before the night is over.
"Collateral" is an arrestingly written (by Stuart Beattie) and acted
dramatic thriller that refuses to cut easy corners for the majority
of its running time. Because it is set over a single night, director
Michael Mann is all the more exacting in the way he follows these
two men brought together by chance—Max and Vincent—from start to finish
of their unlikely relationship. The plot is nothing particularly groundbreaking,
and there is a certain sinking predictability in how things are going
to turn out, but it is in Mann's slick, sharp-eyed work that enhances
the narrative. This is not a film that is all surface; it is quickly
apparent that there are extra layers to the characters than first
meets the eye and Mann has deeper human topics to explore. He does
this startlingly well for most of the running time, avoiding the obvious
and keeping the tone subtle and low-key.
Nevertheless, the machinations of the plot occasionally show their
seams. As killer Vincent goes from one hit to the next and Max gets
further in over his head, practically every event that occurs can
be foretold by viewers astute on genre customs. Of course there will
be a run-in with the law, as Max must play it cool or risk having
Vincent commit the murders of innocent people. And there will be the
scene where, for reasons left to be discovered, Max will be forced
to pose as Vincent during one of his meetings. And then there are
Max's attempts to escape, each one consistently thwarted in the process.
To relieve the decided repetition, screenwriter Stuart Beattie concocts
a number of less apparent, more truthful circumstances that transcend
the formula. A stop at a hospital to visit Max's feisty mother (Irma
P. Hall) is uncharacteristically kind-hearted and tense at the same
time, as the viewer is never sure what Vincent might be capable of
if Max doesn't do as he is told. The extended opening cab scene between
Max and Annie is so expertly conceived, natural, and charming that
it could stand as a short film all on its own. Likewise, some of the
conversations between Max and Vincent dig beneath the exterior of
their personalities, uncovering effective truths about both of them.
And, finally, this is one big Hollywood production where none of the
characters seem to be safe, no matter how high up the well-known actors
appear on the credits list.
In recent years, Tom Cruise has branched out from playing things safe
and heroic, a usual pitfall of big stars, to develop quite a diverse
resume (1999's "Magnolia," 2001's "Vanilla Sky," 2003's "The Last
Sumurai"). His work as Vincent, an unapologetic murderer who sees
his crimes as just another job, is intense and believable. There are
no sentimental asides to Cruise's role to please his fans; Vincent
is who he is (a wayward, hopeless lost soul), and Cruise straightforwardly
plays it that way. On first glance, the comedically-oriented Jamie
Foxx (2004's "Breakin' All the Rules") would appear to be an odd choice
to play opposite Cruise. It takes all of two minutes to dispel any
doubts. As Max, a cab driver who has found himself stuck in a job
he sees no future in but can't get motivated to break free from, Foxx
gives a superbly understated three-dimensional performance.
Despite only getting minimal screen time (solely the first and last
ten minutes), Jada Pinkett Smith (2003's "The Matrix Reloaded") is
dynamite as Annie, making such a deep impression at the beginning
that she remains on the viewer's mind throughout the course of the
story. Pinkett Smith has never been more charismatic than she is here.
The other supporting players are peripheral to the main story, with
Mark Ruffalo (2004's "13 Going on 30"), Peter Berg (2001's "Corky
Romano"), and Bruce McGill (2003's "Matchstick Men") as investigators
hot on Vincent's trail. Because this subplot goes nowhere, and ends
up making zero impact on anything else that occurs, it could have
been completely excised, saving twenty minutes of screen time with
no damage to the finished product.
The slam-bang climax, in which Max makes a desperate attempt to save
the life of Vincent's last target, is simultaneously flawless and
a major letdown. From the point of view of a commercially-based thriller,
it is masterful and genuinely nail-biting, certain to have you inching
toward the end of your seat. Director Mann, editors Jim Miller (2002's
"Serving Sara") and Paul Rubell (2003's "Peter Pan"), and cinematographers
Dion Beebe (2003's "In the Cut") and Paul Cameron (2004's "Man on
Fire") have a field day with tightly moving back and forth between
three different characters and their actions, playing with actual
darkness (rather than the usual movie's version of it, with lights
conveniently placed upon t he subjects), and building a wave of tension
in its wake. At the same time, the third-act plot developments fail
to do justice to the weighty topics that have come before, targeting
familiar thriller-movie conventions when something more had been deserved.
The final minutes end especially predictably, even if they do capture
one's emotions from a visceral standpoint.
When all is said and done, "Collateral" remains an enthralling experience,
thanks to Mann's smart treatment of the material and the performers'
notably strong turns. The ending, however, could have used another
rewrite. For a motion picture that demands close audience attention
and contemplation for its first 100 minutes, the last 20 unfortunately
relegate toward the most commonplace of queries: who lives and who
dies. You care about the outcome, even as you acknowledge the film
could have been so much more.
Copyright © 2004 Dustin Putman
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