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Collateral is a 2004 Dreamworks SKG/Paramount Pictures American drama/thriller/crime film directed by Michael Mann and written by Stuart Beattie, with uncredited rewrites by Mann and Frank Darabont.

It had moderate financial success, and was largely praised by critics. The film is also noticeable for having Tom Cruise playing a rare villainous role. Both followers of Michael Mann and Tom Cruise have considered it a good film, though there has been substantial critical praise for the performance of Jamie Foxx, including a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination. The movie takes place in Los Angeles though the original screenplay set the story in New York. It is also the first major motion picture to be shot with the Viper FilmStream Camera.

Plot summary

A nihilistic, erudite hitman, Vincent (Tom Cruise) uses a cab to make his rounds one night in Los Angeles. After Max (Jamie Foxx) learns the truth about the man he's been driving when the first mark falls onto his cab roof from a window after being shot by Vincent, he tries to get out of Vincent's way offering him his cab, but Vincent forces Max to drive him all night.

Eventually Max realizes that the marks are key witnesses for the prosecution in a court case against an organized crime boss. Max must find a way to save himself and the one last victim (Jada Pinkett Smith) while a police detective (Mark Ruffalo) is hot on Vincent's trail.

Featured cast

Actor Role
Javier Bardem Felix
Peter Berg Richard Weidner
Tom Cruise Vincent
Bodhi Elfman Young Professional Man
Jamie Foxx Max
Irma P. Hall Ida
Barry Shabaka Henley Daniel
Richard T. Jones Traffic Cop #1
Debi Mazar Young Professional Woman
Jamie McBride Traffic Cop #2
Bruce McGill Pedrosa
Emilio Rivera Paco
Mark Ruffalo Fanning
Klea Scott Fed #1
Jada Pinkett Smith Annie
Jason Statham Airport Man

Synopsis

Max (Jamie Foxx) is a cabbie in LA; he strives to be the best. He has had the job for twelve years. Max has dreams of starting a limo company in his head, but they’re just dreams, never to be realized. One day he picks up a prosecuting attorney Annie Farrell (Jada Pinkett Smith), they talk, and in the end when she leaves the cab, she gives him her card. As Max is staring at the card in amazement, a man, Vincent (Tom Cruise), gets in. They have a little chat, and Vincent tells Max that it's not his first time in L.A., and that every time he's here he can't wait to leave. He tells him about something he read once before; "I read about this guy who gets on the MTA here, dies. Six hours he's riding the subway before anybody notices his corpse doing laps around L.A., people on and off sitting next to him. Nobody notices.". Max gets him to where he wanted in time. Vincent shows admiration to his precision and offers him to be his driver for a night, dropping him at four more stops and then to the LAX. Max shows hesitation at first saying that it's against the regulations, but then Vincent offers him $600 plus $100 for getting him back to LAX on time and that's almost twice as much as Max makes in one shift, so he agrees. Max waits for him in an alley behind the building.

A body smashes on the roof of the cab. Max is stunned. He looks up at where the body came from and then down again to see Vincent standing near the car. Max asks, “You killed him?”, Vincent responded, “No, I shot him. Bullets and the fall killed him.” Vincent takes Max hostage and makes him drive around. Vincent takes out a lawyer-turned criminal and a jazz musician.

At this time, a call over the radio informs Max and Vincent that Max's mom has been trying to get in contact; Max religiously visits his ailing mom nightly. Max tries to blow the meeting off, but Vincent insists that they make the rendezvous, to lessen the chance that Max's situation is discovered, and to have more leverage against him (Vincent later threatens to off Max's mother before leaving town). They make the visit - and even share the elevator with the LAPD officer investigating one of Vincent's murders who is visiting the coroner. Vincent discovers that Max has been lying to his mother, who believes that her son owns a limo service and that Vincent is one of Max's clients.

While Vincent amiably chats with Max's mother, Max steals his bag of files and makes a run for it. He makes it to an interstate overpass and flings the case onto the road. An enraged and surprised Vincent then forces Max to meet with Felix, the man who has hired him, to get the files (Vincent didn't want his identity or appearance to be revealed). Felix is at a cowboy club for the evening and, unbeknowingst to him and Vincent, is under surveillance by the FBI. The LAPD agent notices Max's wrecked cab on one of the surveillance cameras, and the law enforcement officials believe that Max is Vincent and that he is driving alone. They do, however, correctly judge the motives of the hits.

We learn that Vincent is a hitman hired by Felix to take out witnesses in a trial against him. Felix is a big shot in the drug trade. Vincent has two more hits left. As he leaves with paperwork in hand, Max simply instructs Felix to reduce Vincent's pay by a considerable percentage as a customer friendly fee. Vincent and Max go to club Fever, but FBI and LAPD are on their trail. In the ensuing mess, Vincent gets his target and manages to save Max’s life. As Max reluctantly drives Vincent to one last hit, an argument ensues between the two in which the two start antagonizing each other over deep character flaws, both deeply affecting one another. To paraphrase Max, he comments on how Vincent isn't a normal human being and wasn't born one, which prompts a bitter Vincent to rebuttal that Max is nothing more than just a talker without courage of pursuing his dream. In a momentary fit of rage and realization, Max accelerates the cab to reckless speeds, completely catching Vincent off guard. Vincent tries to get him to slow down through desperate tactics by pointing a gun at his head but instead, Max runs the cab into a construction barrier and it flips in the air, temporarily sidelining the two. To add insult to injury, Max makes another remark which prompts Vincent to try and stab him with a shard of broken glass, only to hear police sirens in the distance prompting Vincent to run on foot and leave everything behind. Max is just about to give himself up to a cop who is at the crash site when he sees that the last target on Vincent’s list is the prosecution lawyer he met in the beginning. Max quickly overpowers the cop and takes Vincent's pistol which he had left behind. Max starts running to save her. He steals a cell phone from a man on the street, aiming his stolen gun at him. He calls her to warn her. Vincent is in the building, Max is outside looking in. When he realises Vincent is in the building, Max runs inside. Just as Vincent is about to shoot Annie, Max shoots Vincent in the ear. Annie and Max run away onto the MTA (subway). Having been shot by Max, an angry Vincent goes in hot pursuit of both Max and Annie through the building. As they make their way to one train underneath the building, Vincent finally stops before two trains to pick his choice, which just happens to be the one both Max and Annie are hiding in. In the ultimate climax, Max is on one side of the skytrain doors and Vincent is on the other. They both shoot multiple rounds. They both run out of bullets. Vincent starts to re-load but his magazine hits the floor. He has been shot, bleeding from the chest and abdomen. He sits down, apparently calm about the fact that he is dying. Max, still clutching his empty gun, walks over and sits across from him. With his last few breaths Vincent says to Max “Guy gets on the MTA here in LA and dies. Think anybody'll notice? ”

With Vincent dead, Max and Annie get off the subway and walk away into what appears to be another Los Angeles morning. The film ends with the subway train, in which Vincent's corpse is sitting, driving away.

Theme

Michael Mann himself has stated that the general idea behind Collateral is the clashing of ideals behind the two main characters. Vincent is obsessed with improvisation, often mentioning his reverance for constant change and making things up as he goes along almost as an art form (also reflected by his love of jazz), and definitely as a way of life, whereas Max has been driving cabs for twelve years because he believes that everything he does must be meticulously planned, especially the "Island Limos" company he wishes to set up. In the end, Max and Vincent find themselves in a shoot out, in which Max closes his eyes and throws chance to the wind. Vincent, in turn, foregoes the improvisation he is so adept at and shoots at Max in the same pattern he has shot all his victims; two in the body, one in the head. This habitual method of Vincent's keeps Max alive, as the subway doors prevented the bullets from hitting Max. This marks Vincent's impact on Max, as well as Vincent's one mistake (not improvising properly), and stresses that the two extremes are wrong, and that a balance is actually the best way to live life.

This, of course, is merely one interpretation, but being the one of the director, it is most likely the one that was intended. Another interpretation implies improvisation as a way to live life. Vincent was at his best when improvising and Max was always restricted by his meticulous planning. In the final shootout, Vincent failed to adapt and fired straight ahead, hitting the doors separating him from Max. Max, on the other hand, moved to the side and fired chaotically through the windows, emptying his gun. Due to Vincent's close proximity, Max was able to hit him in the abdomen with a lucky shot. Keeping in line with other events in the film, the victor of this confrontation was the one who was most able to adapt; Max.

Interestingly, Mann's other major crime-drama movie, Heat begins with Robert DeNiro's character at an MTA station very similar to the one that Collateral ends in; Heat also begins at an MTA station and ends at an airport - Collateral begins at an airport and ends at an MTA station. On the DVD commentary for Heat, Mann confirms that it is the same MTA station in both movies.

Another connection with Heat, and other movies of his involving criminals is the focus on the dichotomy of personalities. Heat actually has the reverse, with Al Pacino's character, the detective (also named Vincent) being the one that seems to be focused on adaptation and impulse, whereas DeNiro's criminal character is obsessively methodical with his giving into impulse leading to his downfall.

A final theme within the film is the title itself: Collateral. The main theory behind the title is Max's mother and Vincent's threat that he will kill her. This example of awareness to Vincent's surroundings serves as a way of further showing his ability to improvise and read his situation. He sees that Max is getting scared after the jazz club incident and snatches at an opportunity to gain the collateral he seeks on Max, should he decide to be uncooperative. Rather than kill Max and find another liaison to L.A., he finds a weakness outside of Max's physicality and exploits it ruthlessly.

The Coyote Scene

One scene that often creates much discussion is a short sequence where two coyotes pass in front of the cab as it stops at an intersection. Many theories arise as to the true meaning of the symbolism in the scene, and since Mann has never given a specific answer, it's still heavily debated (especially on the forums at IMDb.com).

Some of the more common theories are:

  • The coyotes directly represent Vincent and Max. The first coyote races across the road, seemingly startled and afraid, mimicking Max's reactions to Vincent. The second coyote follows behind in a much cooler, calmer manner, representing Vincent's more relaxed state. Another support to this theory is that Vincent often follows Max, even when in the cab, by always taking the back seat. Likewise, Vincent's coyote follows Max's.
  • Another theory notices that Mann concentrates much more on Vincent's reaction than Max's, suggesting that Vincent is the focus of the scene. It also acknowledges the insert shot of the damaged Silver Bacardi advertisement on the roof of the cab. This supposes that Vincent, upon seeing the coyotes, realises that he is no different. He is a scavenger in a city, populated by people he doesn't understand (which Max later points out to him after escaping Fever). The damaged advertisement represents how Vincent's image is starting to crack and peel away, revealing a vulnerable man (this idea is supported later when Max sees through Vincent and rolls the car onto its roof, crushing the advertisement).
  • A third popular idea relates between Max and Vincent. Had Vincent been driving, he would not have stopped for the coyotes. Max shows compassion and respect toward other life, qualities Vincent never realised that he had lost, until this moment. Vincent's mesmerised stare towards Max reveals he is surprised, even shocked, that he lacks these basic human traits.

Although these are the most common, there are several more theories pertaining to this scene that can be found on film forums. There are also plenty of people who choose to take the scene at face value—an image that Mann himself saw in real life, was struck by, and decided to include in his film.

Cameos

In the beginning of the film, upon leaving the airport, Vincent (Tom Cruise) receives the briefcase containing his files from an Englishman, played by Jason Statham. Some believe this minor character to be Frank Martin, Statham's character and the protagonist from the action thriller movies The Transporter and The Transporter 2. This is never directly established, however, with the only evident similarity between the two characters being that they are both played by Jason Statham (although this theory can possibly be supported by the fact that in The Transporter movies, Statham's character is a courier of suspicious and frequently illegal materials, which would appear to be the purpose of the Englishman in this movie).

The Insider co-star Debi Mazar also makes a cameo appearance alongside Bodhi Elfman as a bickering couple in Max's cab.

Trivia

  • Tom Cruise's character, Vincent, wears a similar suit to that of Robert de Niro's character in a 1995 Michael Mann film, Heat. This is no coincidence as Mann's research indicated that both characters would dedicate their appearance to being difficult to describe. Both men are medium build and height, grey and white suit with a light beard. Vincent goes further and has his hair dyed silver grey and his facial hair is less pronounced (he has facial hair but it's not a full beard). This lends his appearance a low contrast, colorless look that will not draw attention to itself. Both Vincent and McCauly in Heat use the Mozambique Drill and even the words "double tap to the sternum and one to the head" make it into the films.
  • Another interesting fact is that Tom Cruise was trained by the technical advisor for Heat, Mick Gould, who is a former British SAS soldier. This implies that Vincent was probably a former Special Forces soldier, but dragged into the underworld of contract killings. This is borne out by when Max asks how long he's been doing this, Vincent's reply is, "Private sector? Six years." This would imply he had been "public sector" - in the government's employ - prior to this.
  • "Adapt and Improvise" is the motto for Delta Force, one of least known special forces.
  • When Tom Cruise's character, Vincent arrives at the jazz club to speak with Daniel the music being played on stage is "Spanish Key" from Miles Davis's Bitches Brew

Awards and nominations

2005 ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards 2005 Academy Awards (Oscars) 2005 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (Saturn Awards) 2005 American Cinema Editors (Eddies)
  • Nominated - Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases — Dion Beebe, Paul Cameron
2005 Art Directors Guild 2005 BAFTA Film Awards 2005 Black Reel Awards 2005 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards

External links

2004 films | Thriller films | Crime films | Films directed by Michael Mann | Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nominated performance | DreamWorks films | Paramount films | Films shot digitally | Neo-noir | Neo-Western films

Collateral | Collatéral | Collateral | Collateral | コラテラル | Collateral

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Collateral (film)".

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