As “Michael Mann Week” comes to an end here at The Film Nest, we want to bring you one last look at what might now be considered his last “great” movie. Earlier, we brought you the classic shootout in downtown L.A. from 1995’s Heat. It’s probably the most famous scene from Mann’s ouevre. Today, I wanted to go a little less mainstream for you. It’s a short scene from one of Mann’s most underrated films, 2004’s Collateral. At the moment, it’s one of the least loved films in our sidebar poll, so I figured I’d spread a little love on it.
Tom Cruise plays Vincent, a contract killer assigned to dispose of five people in the Los Angeles area who played witness to a crime committed by his employer. He hops into a cab driven by Max (Jamie Foxx), just on the job “temporarily.” Vincent asks Max to be his personal chauffeur for the night, and when the prospect of doubling Max’s pay is offered, Max reluctantly accepts. Little does he know, he has been hired to drive Vincent around to the homes of each of the witnesses while Vincent does his business and kills them. Immediately reluctant to have any role in this, Max tries to back out, much to Vincent’s dismay.
In this short, but sweet scene, Vincent has been dropped out off at the house of victim number two and ties Max’s hands to the steering wheel so he won’t drive away. Max honks the horn loudly, trying to garner a passerby’s attention to help him. He doesn’t get the help he desires. Enjoy.
Since that scene was so short and this is the last Mann-related post of the week, I’m leaving you with a little bonus. This is the club scene from the film where Vincent performs his special brand of magic, played out in front of Paul Oakenfold’s “Ready, Set, Go.”
I could’ve also chosen Javier Bardem’s small, but pivotal scene. “Pedro del Negro!” However at this point, you should just see the movie. It’s great.



I loved this movie, its great.
Ruffalo was also really good in this.