Miami Vice
I think the thing I find most appealing about Michael Mann’s films (even “Ali,” which had a hard time getting past the Will Smith persona to find the heart of its’ subject) is that even when he’s working with the constraints of a genre, his films remain fundamentally studies of character. This is best illustrated in what one might call his “crime trilogy” of 1995’s “Heat” (a peak), 2004’s “Collateral” (a great and gritty experiment), and now “Miami Vice,” inspired- in name and main character names only- by the ’80s TV sensation more memorable for its’ pastel costumes than for its’ examinations in working crime in Florida.
It broke ground for TV, but Mann manages to break away altogether from his film’s origins to further delve into the complex lives and emotions of characters on the edge of the law, on both sides of it. As Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs, Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx make you forget Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas right off the bat, as Mann catches up with them on a sting in a Miami club that sets the mood of the film- dark, gritty, ambiguous- right off the bat through the pulsating music (Mann- one of the best at picking music which establishes tone- deftly blends pre-existing music with a mood-perfect score by John Murphy) and down-and-dirty camerawork by cinematographer Dion Beebe (a groundbreaker in his use of digital for “Collateral” who goes even further here, to brilliant effect). But Mann’s films aren’t all flash- his storytelling instincts are always rooted in character. Sonny and Ricardo feel betrayed when the feds fail an informer the pair collared in a busted attempt at bringing down a drug cartel whose leader appears to be John Ortiz’s character- all menace to lasting effect- but is in fact Jesus Montoya (Luis Tosar), who’s looking at the undercover Sonny and Ricardo to help bring in his merchandise as the duo- working for a taskforce led by the FBI- act as couriers. They play their parts well, even when Ricardo brings his girl Trudy (Naomie Harris, who strikes a tender bond with Foxx, continuing a string of great lively and lived-in roles that includes Mann’s “Collateral,” the Oscar-winning “Ray,” and “Jarhead”) to a deal (a decision that has consequences), especially when Sonny turns on the charm with Isabella, the Chinese-Cuban financial officer for the cartel played by Gong Li, who made a splash in Hollywood in “Memoirs of a Geisha,” but has been an icon in China for years through her collaborations with- most especially- Chinese master Zhang Yimou (“Raise the Red Lantern,” “Ju Dou”). Her character’s broken English is barely audible, but her feelings toward Sonny come through (with or without clothes on) in every frame her and Farrell (back in prime bad boy mode after “The New World” and “Alexander”) share together, especially in a sizzling dance at Ortiz’s club. You can’t take your eyes off these actors as they navigate the turbulent moral waters they’re speeding through, and you’ll never forget the way that fate deals each character his/her own hand by the end, which evokes a sense of longing for a life they can never really know that feels true to life. Even- actually, especially- during Mann’s grippingly staged action scenes (a raid in a trailer park where a hostage is being held and the climactic gun battle) do you sense that there’s more at stake then just the good guys getting the bad guys in the end.
Actually, in any Michael Mann film- be it an explosive crime thriller like “Heat,” “Collateral,” or “Manhunter,” a period action film like “The Last of the Mohicans,” or a real-life drama like “Ali” or 1999’s riveting “The Insider”- you feel a sense of real urgency to do the right thing…by any means necessary. “Miami Vice” is a continuation of that just-under-the-surface theme, and a damn entertaining one.
