9 Reviews from the Land of JBU Cinema: "Collateral"

Written for various prompts in and out of my Cinema classes at John Brown this past semester, these reviews/analyses seemed to warrant inclusion here.
 

I had always wanted to see this one, but for some reason never got around to it until just now. Perhaps because of my inherent interest in the story, then, “Collateral” was the easiest to sit through of all the films required for this class. And this is a story that lived up to my expectations thematically and narratively. It’s hard for me to remember when I last saw a film with characters that were so well-drawn and believable - yes, even the Cruise character, though sociopathic to the extreme, seems to be grounded in the film’s reality. Though they are abstract, he has motivations, and a clearly defined personality. I specifically remember the scene just after Vincent shoots the lowlifes who rob Max while tied to the steering wheel in the alley. For an instant, as Vincent stalked back towards the taxi, I feared for Max’s life. Then I chided myself, because I knew instinctively that retaliation for Max’s attempt at attracting attention would be out of character for Vincent. Sure enough, he simply unties Max and they go on their way. That is truly great character writing. A lesser screenwriter (myself included) would have resorted to at least a pistol-whip. But to Vincent, Max is just a means to an end – hardly worth the exertion. He is coolly confident that the unlucky cab driver is cowed.

That said, let’s talk about Michael Mann’s camera work and lens language. It seems that a common thread between his films (especially his later ones) is his consistent decision to shoot in HD at higher frame rates than is standard. This lends his footage a real-life veracity that is usually missing in other films. The shots look and feel real – there is none of the almost imperceptible “slow-down” that occurs with 24 fps film that distinguishes shot footage from real life. 

As far as the overall mood of claustrophobia is concerned, I noticed specifically that there is very little camera tilt or pan. The camera is always level, and more often than not, it looks straight ahead, even while action is taking place. Cuts take place from one stationary angle to another, and it created the feeling for me that I was unable to turn my head, almost as if Vincent’s gun were being held to my head. Camera motion only seems to occur when an action by a character would take him out of frame otherwise. I also took note of a large number of clean singles, especially close shots of Max as he frets, or on Vincent as he dominates the frame. We feel trapped with the characters inside their own minds, or trapped with them under the influence of Vincent.