Style over substance

Collateral
(directed by Michael Mann; 2004)

'Stylish' is the keyword for this Michael Mann thriller. The central scenes of two very different men trapped together in a taxi give the director the opportunity to foreground LA nightscapes, and Mann awards the audience an abundance of stunningly composed city tableaux which imbue the film with an appropriately chilly atmosphere.

Though this is Tom Cruise's first bad guy role since Interview with a Vampire, you don't get the feeling that he's too stretched playing contract killer Vincent, with deadlines to meet, people to kill & potted philosophy to divulge to his captive audience. Nevertheless, Cruise gives the character plenty of steely menace without ever quite turning him into a one-dimensional figure -- and Collateral grips from the moment the body thuds on top of the taxi after Vincent's first hit goes wrong.

Cruise grabs top billing & features in the film's opening scene, but it's the second man who really drives the film as well as the taxi. Max (Jamie Foxx) is an Everyman figure who carries the audience through the film. Trapped in a dead-end job with dreams he's too timid to realise, we slowly see that he's made a string of bad decisions before the biggie of taking Vincent on as a fare. His initial attempts to escape only escalate the violence, and ironically -- and crucially -- it's Vincent who eventually gives Max the courage to take control not only of the taxi ride but also of his life.

Along the way, the ride takes some unusual & memorable side-turns -- most notably, Vincent sweet-talking Max's hospital-confined mother, and a great interlude set in a jazz bar.

With all this going for Collateral, it's unfortunate that Mann's focus on style seems to come at the expense of substance. The building tension between the two men is allowed to dissolve into a meaningless cat 'n' mouse finale, all the worse for being woefully predictable right from the opening few minutes. Though Foxx gives a brave performance in a tricky role, ultimately I felt he lacked the substance to quite carry it off, particularly against such a solid performer as Cruise. The taxi scenes never quite attained the claustrophobic electricity that two equally matched actors might have been able to develop.

Collateral feels like two-thirds of an intelligent & memorable thriller. Pity it couldn't make it to 100%.

25 October 2004