Vincent (Tom Cruise), the hitman in Collateral, is ruthless and evil, but
he is good at his job. No surprise here: Michael Mann, one of the most
reliable directors working today, has made a career of focusing on the
professionalism of both sides of the law. In his world, films such as Fargo and Pulp Fiction are inconceivable.
Cruise, guided by Mann, successfully discards his cocky charm and creates
the most loathsome character of his career. But it is Jamie Foxx, as the
cabdriver forced to chauffeur Vincent to his hits, who commands the screen.
Mann keeps the far-fetched storyline on track, even during its occasional
lapses into outlandishness. Collateral, in video stores since mid-December, ranks among
Mann’s best work.
Mann’s first big break was the boringly
traditional television show Vegas, but he continued his gallery of cops and criminals with
the groundbreaking Miami Vice and the classic Crime Story.
He first brought his criminal world to the big screen
with the little-seen Thief (1981), starring James Caan as a master safecracker who
mistakenly gives up his independence to partner with an entrepreneurial
crime boss (Robert Prosky). Thief signaled a major new talent in film, and it gave Caan
his greatest starring role. Unfortunately, few people saw it.
Mann suffered the sophomore jinx with The Keep (1983), a preposterous
World War II horror yarn, but he was back in his element with Manhunter (1986). William
Peterson stars as a troubled FBI profiler who is pressed back into service
to track down a serial killer. Manhunter marks the first screen appearance of Hannibal Lecter
(played this time by Brian Cox). Anthony Hopkins may be the definitive
Lecter, but Manhunter is the best film to feature the cinema’s most popular
psychopath. It is also Mann’s best film.
Mann next ventured from his favorite genre with the
stately but boring The Last of the Mohicans (1992). Its epic structure was carried over to Mann’s
most ambitious project, Heat(1995), a grand cat-and-mouse thriller about the rivalry between
a master crook (Robert De Niro) and a dysfunctional cop (Al Pacino). Bigger
isn’t necessarily better. Heat is a good film, but one expects more from its grandiose
scale. Mann continues to explore other genres with success in such films as
The Insider (1999)
and Ali (2001), but he will always be associated with the genre of crime. Next up is his
film version of Miami Vice(2006). Will his best TV show become his best movie?
DVDs released this week: Flight of the Phoenix and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. Coming Tuesday (March 8): Ladder
49, Stage Beauty, and Woman Thou Art Loosed.
This article appears in Mar 3-9, 2005.
