Collateral

Trust. Collateral is a film about trust. Think about it. Every day, around the world, cabbies let complete strangers into their cars and, with backs turned, ferry them to their destination of choice. In our “lock the doors” and “don’t talk to strangers” world, it’s an odd paradigm given little thought by most of us. But, screenwriter Stuart Beattie was intrigued enough to write a script—and a damn good one at that!

With attached talent in the caliber of Tom Cruise and Michael Mann, Collateral appears to have all the trappings of a summer blockbuster. But, look past the poster and credits and you find a smartly written, deftly executed, small-style film that, like a well-tuned cab, fires on all cylinders.

Max (Jamie Foxx) is an L.A. cabbie, but, he’s not your typical cab driver. He takes pride in his work. His cab is the cleanest most passengers have ever seen. He knows Los Angeles like a blind man knows how many steps to take from the front door to the bedroom—right down to how many minutes it takes from point A to point B.

His first fare of the night is Annie (Jada Pinkett Smith), an attractive federal prosecutor starting a big case in the morning. On their drive downtown, normal conversation banter turns to inquisitive flirting and the two strangers share intimate details about their lives the way strangers sometimes do. It’s a connection. Max wants to get her number, but doesn’t. As Annie walks away, he shakes his head—another in a long line of missed opportunities. Annie saves him from self-torture by knocking on the window and giving her card. Max relishes the moment.

This is a brilliant scene. It reveals volumes about the characters, pulls us into their story and sets up future plot elements. It’s an opening you won’t find often in today’s jump-in-fast-and-don’t-look-back Hollywood. Way to go Stuart!

Max’s elation is put on hold by his next fare, Vincent (Tom Cruise). He’s a business man who needs to make six stops that night to collect some signatures. In L.A. you can’t buy a cab for a night, but $600 persuades Max to break the rules. Bad choice. While waiting for Vincent at his first stop, a body crashes, from three stories up, onto his cab windshield. Max is stunned, but moreso to learn it was Vincent who killed him—so much for the signatures. The film speeds into the night as Vincent executes his work and Max tussles with how to disentangle himself from the worst fare of his 12 year cabbie career.

The strength of this film is in the writing. Beattie, who worked on Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl and the upcoming vampire movie 40 Days of Nights, has crafted intriguing, multi-dimensional characters and found unique ways to move them through the story. His dialogue is sharp and witty and peppered with interesting life facts. His pacing of the story is superb—slowly building an ever-increasing level of tension throughout the film, but graciously injecting the right amounts of belly laughs to let the audience relax its clenched muscles. Beattie also throws in a few curve balls that even the I-knew-that-was-coming film viewer won’t expect.

Director Michael Mann (Heat, Last of the Mohicans, Manhunter) maintains the spirit of the script in its transformation from page to screen. It would have been easy to super-size it into a full-blown action movie, but he recognized the indi-style served the film better. His overhead shots of the night-drenched L.A. streets reminded me of TV’s Miami Vice, which he wrote on during its heyday.

Tom Cruise got top bill (as he usually does), but Jamie Foxx gave a more notable performance. It’s not that Cruise wasn’t good; his portrayal of the speckle-haired, exacting killer was first-rate. It was refreshing to finally see him play the bad guy. But, it’s Tom Cruise—we expect that. Jamie Foxx, on the other hand, is best known for his comedic, not dramatic talent. Noteworthy acting is convincingly playing someone unlike yourself and Foxx nailed the unfulfilled, but hopelessly optimistic Max. If this role is any indication of things to come, the soon to be released film Ray, about the life of the late Ray Charles, should be a treat.

Collateral far outstripped my expectations in nearly every aspect. The writing was killer, the directing hit the mark, and the acting sparkled like the inside of Max’s cab. Collateral is about trust and Stuart Beattie has earned mine. I’ll be in line for 40 Days of Nights.