Collateral Review

August 16, 2004 5:42 PM
by [email]

“Collateral” is a triumph of mood, style, and a lot of substance. The characters are layered and complex, as is the dialogue, and they are embodied with assuredness by Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx.

The story plays out in the ominous, almost desolate streets of nighttime Los Angeles, with the camera’s eye showing sweeping aerial shots on a grainy film stock, all in an effort to convey a raw, unrelenting aura that matches the steely resolve of Cruise’s gray hair and suit.

Director Michael Mann achieved a similar aesthetic for “Heat” in 1995, but here the screen is more focused and, consequently, more interesting to watch.

In the kind of against-type role that won Denzel Washington an Oscar for “Training Day,” Cruise plays Vincent, a hit-man who solicits an unsuspecting cabbie named Max (Foxx) to transport him from one hit to the next.

Max, who we know is smart and insightful from his earlier conversation with overworked lawyer Annie (Pinkett Smith), catches on quickly to what Vincent is doing, but is trapped in the situation and cannot escape.

The story is rounded out by recognizable faces in a bevy of cameos that fit seamlessly into the narrative. Mark Ruffalo (“13 Going on 30”) plays the cop tracking the cab, Bruce McGill (“The Insider”) plays a federal agent, and Javier Bardem (“Before Night Falls”) plays Vincent’s employer, Felix.

Also look for Irma P. Hall (“The Ladykillers”) as Max’s mother and Jason Statham (“The Italian Job”) in blink-and-you’ll-miss-them appearances.

As the film progresses it takes on a Hitchcockian flare: Max is clearly an innocent thrust into an extraordinary situation, and has no idea how he will survive the night.

But as is always the case with Hitchcock, it’s not what’s happening with the plot that’s relevant.

Rather, it is the relationships that build between the protagonists that heightens our interest, in this case with the emphasis between Max and Vincent, each of whom is given more psychological depth and brains than we normally see in their type of character.

The deep characterization is articulated by two great performances from Cruise and Foxx. Cruise hasn’t played a villain in ten years (“Interview with the Vampire”), but here wears the gray suit and steely gray hair with a Cruisian confidence that is devoid of his normal arrogance and ear-to-ear grin.

Yet we still like his unlikable assassin, are amused by him, and can’t help but feel a tinge of sorrow for him.

For Foxx, who’s made a career out of playing loud and obtrusive characters in both comedy and drama, Max is a character that proves his talent and versatility.

Witty, smart, and charming when he wants to be, Max is a simple man who just wants to make an honest living, and realizes that the more time he spends with Vincent the more his dreams are endangered.

This type of role is harder than it seems, but Foxx’s reserved, almost caustic approach to the character fits Max perfectly.

The action sequences manifest in a variety of ways: some are unexpected, some aren’t, but all are done simply and succinctly, except for one sequence inside a club that deviates from the grim reality and is perhaps a bit too gratuitously entertaining to suit the film.

However, this well-choreographed scene is also hypnotic in its visual buoyancy, and serves to move the story along, so to critique it for its excesses would be splitting hairs.

The dog days of summer may be upon us, but “Collateral” is a nice detour from the Hollywood blockbusters that have invaded multiplexes the past few months.