Collateral

Michael Mann’s 120 minute film follows Max, a cab driver stuck with the same passenger for one night. The screenplay was set in New York; Mann moved it to Los Angeles. Two cinematographers share the credit: Paul Cameron left in the third week over creative differences, Dion Beebe replaced him, and they shared the BAFTA. Night exteriors were mostly recorded on a digital camera, the Viper FilmStream; interiors went on 35mm, the Korean nightclub shootout among them. Light drove the split: digital could record a street without lighting it, which is why the coyote crossing the road needed no rig. The result runs all night, since the city behind the actors never goes black and distant buildings and glass stay legible. Mann prepared Tom Cruise the same way, sending him on courier deliveries around Los Angeles without being recognised. Jamie Foxx was nominated here for Actor in a Supporting Role and lost to Morgan Freeman, then won Actor in a Leading Role the same night for Ray. The film also lost Film Editing. A good fit if you read unlit, grainy, still legible night exteriors as a choice rather than a flaw. Not for you if two men talking in a cab for longer than the shootings last will wear you down.