In My Opinion: Ranking the Films of Michael Mann
This one wasn't easy...
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Public Enemies (2009) |
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| I can't begin to tell you how much I have thought about this movie since seeing it last Thursday. Discussing it as I walked out of the theater I wasn't entirely convinced of what I thought of it. I knew I liked it, but there are some slow moments and it can be a bit repetitive, but the good vastly outweighs any bad I was able to dig out of it. If you look at it strictly for its action you are going to come away absolutely astounded. Just check out the "Gunfight at Little Bohemia Lodge" clip below for a taste, I honestly think this gunfight may beat the one in Heat. The performances of Johnny Depp as John Dillinger and Christian Bale as his pursuer, Melvin Purvis, are excellent, but the real standout is Marion Cotillard as Dillinger's girl, Billie Frechette. Cotillard's performance is the glue that keeps this film together and to think she only spoke broken English before accepting the role is astonishing. There is no doubt in my mind she will be nominated for a Supporting Actress Oscar and the photography by Dante Spinotti is also on my Oscar short list. This film is truly beautiful.
I will save most of my comments for my official review of the film, but I will say that when I originally came out of the theater I couldn't put my finger on the overall purpose of the film and the telling of Dillinger's life. I felt it lacked motivation, but the more I thought about it the more I began to realize that is exactly the point. Dillinger didn't live for the future, his life didn't have direction outside of living in the here and now and Public Enemies captures that explicitly. It spans 13 months of Dillinger's life as he begins by breaking his buddies out of jail, robbing banks and finding love on his way to actually finding some semblance of where he would like his life to go. Sound familiar? Perhaps De Niro in Heat? The comparisons to Heat are endless… Along with the gunfight clip, I think the clip directly below featuring Depp and Cotillard is an absolutely fantastic moment in the film and is sure to get you ready to see it on July 1… More on this flick tomorrow… You're With Me Now
Gunfight at Little Bohemia Lodge
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The Insider (1999) |
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| It is hard to believe The Insider can be so intense and aggressive when you watch it and realize it has none of the action scenes typically found in a Michael Mann film. People aren't getting shot or run over by semis and no one is breaking-and-entering. Instead we are battling with words, paper and process as Al Pacino and Russell Crowe deliver a pair of performances to remember. I would say this is easily Pacino's best performance in the past ten years as he managed to be Pacino without resorting to really going overboard, which I thought he did a couple times in Heat such as the "Gimme all yah got! Gimme all yah got!" tantrum. Instead, this is restrained, yet aggressive Pacino and going up against the quiet tenacity of Crowe as Jeffrey Wigand, a role that put him on the map following L.A. Confidential two years earlier, it was pure gold.
I think one of the things I respect most about this film is the immediate recognition of dramatic license taken with the story, which actually precedes the end credits. Oftentimes films based on true stories forgo admitting where things were changed or not necessarily kosher with the true story. Here, Mann owns up to it before you have a chance to hit eject or walk out of the theater. Kudos. For more of my opinion on this one, I wrote a review last October which you can find right here, and now here is a clip from the film. |
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Collateral (2004) |
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| Yup, Collateral is my all-time favorite Michael Mann film. Even with the ending, which I think we can all agree is nowhere near as good as the first three-quarters of the film. I don't care, by the time the ending rolls around and Max (Jamie Foxx) flips his cab, I was fully invested and whatever happened next was simply icing on the cake. When I first saw this film in 2004 I was not at all prepared for what was in store and it bowled me over. Tom Cruise is an absolute force as Vincent (the fact he wasn't nominated is a crime) and I love Mark Ruffalo's contribution to this film. Up until Collateral I had no eye for Ruffalo whatsoever, but I have been aware of him ever since.
Collateral's dialogue is off the charts and the marriage of music and visuals is perfect, but if anything it is the determined nature of Vincent that keeps me coming back to this one and no one scene is more memorable from this film than the one below… "Hey homey! Is that my briefcase?" |
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So there you have it, that's my ranking of the nine Michael Mann directed films… Here's the list again in short form to help you in cutting and pasting your own list into the comments:
- Collateral (2004)
- The Insider (1999)
- Public Enemies (2009)
- Heat (1995)
- The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
- Manhunter (1986)
- Thief (1981)
- Ali (2001)
- Miami Vice (2006)
If you've seen The Keep or even want to include some of his made-for-TV movies such as "The Jericho Mile" (another I haven't seen) toss them into the mix as well. Public Enemies hits theaters this Wednesday, July 1. For more on that film click here.
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