Collateral (2004)

A cab driver finds himself the hostage of an engaging contract killer as he makes his rounds from hit to hit during one night in Los Angeles.

Director:

Michael Mann

Writer:

Stuart Beattie

Stars:

Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett Smith

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 23 wins & 68 nominations.

Cast

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

Storyline

LA cabbie Max Durocher is the type of person who can wax poetic about other people's lives, which impresses U.S. Justice Department prosecutor Annie Farrell, one of his fares, so much that she gives him her telephone number at the end of her ride. Although a dedicated man as seen through the efficiency in which he does his work, he can't or won't translate that eloquence into a better life for himself. He deludes himself into believing that his now twelve year cabbie job is temporary and that someday he will own his own limousine service. He even lies to his hospitalized mother that he already owns one, with a further lie that he tells her as such primarily to make her happy, rather than the truth which is that he won't do anything to achieve that dream. One night, Max picks up a well dressed man named Vincent, who asks Max to be his only fare for the evening. For a flat fee of $600, plus an extra $100 if he gets to the airport on time - Vincent wants Max to drive him to five stops ...

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Plot Keywords:

city by night | driving at night | los angeles california | contract killer | hostage | 

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Taglines:

It started like any other night

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish French Korean

Release Date:

6 August 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Untitled Michael Mann Project

Filming Locations:

1912 N Cahuenga Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$65,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$24,701,458, 8 August 2004, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$101,005,703

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$217,764,291

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures,DreamWorks,Parkes+MacDonald Image Nation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Australian Screenwriter Stuart Beattie was only seventeen when he took a cab home from the Sydney airport. It was on that ride that he had the idea of a homicidal maniac sitting in the back of a cab, with the driver nonchalantly entering into conversation with him, trusting his passenger implicitly. Beattie drafted his idea into a two-page treatment. Later, when he was enrolled at Oregon State University, he fleshed it out into his first screenplay. Titled "The Last Domino", he put the script away, taking it out occasionally for revisions and re-writes over the following years.

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Goofs

The lawyer Vincent shoots is supposed to live on Fountain Avenue in West Hollywood. The view from his condo is downtown Los Angeles - about 12 miles from the given address

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Quotes

[first lines]
Vincent: You OK?
Airport Man: Yeah, I'm fine mate, don't worry about it.

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits of any kind. The title does not appear until the closing credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Hollywood Mouth (2008)

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Soundtracks

Ven Aca Bonita
Written by Josh Cruze
Performed by Bandidos de Amor
Courtesy of BDA Records

User Reviews

Another Michael Mann Winner

Nobody's perfect, but it's hard to go wrong with a Michael Mann-directed film, especially when it's a crime movie.

Although this isn't the quality of his 1995 "Heat," it wasn't far behind in its ability to interest and entertain the viewer while providing some slick visuals.

Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx are the stars of the film, Foxx winning an Academy Award. No offense to him, but I found Cruise better. He was just outstanding in here as the immoral hit-man. Foxx was entertaining, too, as the nerd-ish cab driver who is pulled into Cruise's murdering adventures.

You'll appreciate both of these guys, and the great visuals, more on the second viewing after you are familiar with the story. The intense film is definitely worth more than one look. Check out the behind-the-scenes documentary, too. You'll be glad you are not an actor in one of Mann's films.