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DVD Corner: ‘Collateral’ is a great drama

Mac Olsen
for Spotlight

Rated 14A by Canadian Home Video Rating; 2 hours; $12.99 for two-disc DVD edition at www.amazon.ca; Not to be confused with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ‘Collateral Damage’

Two worlds collide in director Michael Mann’s 2004 psychological drama, ‘Collateral’, with the concrete jungle of Los Angeles as the ideal backdrop.

It stars Tom Cruise as killer-for-hire Vincent and Jamie Foxx as cab driver Max. Vincent arrives in L.A. to carry out a series of killings for the underworld and an unwitting Max drives him around. The first killing at an apartment building shows Vincent’s psychotic nature.

“Y-You killed him!” Max shrieks, after the victim falls on his cab.

“No, I shot him. The bullets and the fall killed him,” replies Vincent.

From then on, they engage in a psychological drama, prodding each other for what makes them tick. Vincent had a rough childhood, bouncing from one foster home to another, then back to his alcoholic dad. He speaks of killing him almost matter-of-factly.

It turns out Max has big dreams of owning his own limousine company and is just one step away from making it come true. In reality, Max has done nothing to achieve his dream and he’s become a two-bit nothing.

The confirmation comes when they go to the hospital to meet Max’s mother, Ida (played by Irma P. Hall). She goes on about all the famous people Max is driving around and discusses her expectations of him, too, which he obviously hasn’t lived up to.

Max tries to downplay what she says about him, insisting he tells her only what she wants to hear. But for Vincent, it’s merely confirmation Max will never amount to anything, and he throws a verbal dagger his way.

However, Max gets back at Vincent by questioning him about why he’s killing all his targets. Vincent alludes to them being part of a criminal case that some in the underworld don’t want to proceed and he’s merely carrying out his service for hire. What they do or have done doesn’t really matter, in Vincent’s view of the world.

But Max really twists the thumbscrews on Vincent about the immorality of what he’s doing and finds a new inner strength to oppose him. It really comes out in the climactic ending, as Max tries to protect one of his other riders, Annie (played by Jada Pinkett Smith), from Vincent’s assassination attempts.

The character development is first rate, as Cruise and Foxx really play off each other with forceful performances. Granted, much of the dialogue and drama are played out in the cab, but it’s the perfect plot device for the story to unfold.

Also good is the use of the Los Angeles urban landscape, such as an oriental night club where Vincent unleashes mayhem while trying to kill a witness in a federal case. Another great production value is the use of night and high-definition cameras to bring out the lighting and buildings.

Overall, ‘Collateral’ deserves 4½ stars out of five for great character development, story line and production values.