Very few movie directors can boast having worked with two of the greatest screen actors of their generation but Michael Mann can certainly make that claim and make it with a sense of triumph. Robert De Niro and Al Pacino star in Heat an action packed faced pace thriller with a brain.
Michael Mann has for years now been an A list director, commanding a cast of only the finest actors and being able to promote his own vision how he sees fit. No other Mann film however has been such an epic of modern movie making than Heat, which firmly sits as the jewel in Michael Mann’s creative crown.
Heat is in essence a simple tale of “good guy catching bad guy” or a “cat and mouse” thriller, however through complex direction and in depth character exploration this does more than what it says on the tin. Pacino plays a hard boiled cop who has seen it all in his line of work, as he refers to himself in the movie “I am only what I’m going after”, which more or less sums up his determination to catch his target. De Niro on the other hand plays an ex-con who, in a not so clichéd way, “never wants to go back”. De Niro’s character is an accomplished thief who takes high risk jobs with big rewards and again mirroring Pacino’s character will do what it takes to get what he’s taking so to speak.
The film is an underlying story of two men on opposite ends of the law who are very similar and out of this a mutual respect for each other develops, portrayed in one of cinemas finest confrontations between two titans of the acting world. Both characters as stubborn as the other and will not quit until one is the victor which accumulates to an epic climax.
De Niro leads a band of professional thieves who he has done time with and trusts above all other people, including De Niro’s right hand man and gambling junkie Val Kilmer who has never been better, as well as Tom Sizemore in a well acted role. On the other side of the coin Pacino commands a police squad who work as a tight team and these types of mirrored images are shown throughout the whole movie, from restaurant scenes with families and wives to getting together to discuss their next targets.
There is a romance element to the movie with Pacino onto his third wife sharing a passionate but volatile relationship and having to deal with a depressed step daughter, played by a young Natalie Portman. De Niro starts and affair with a shy bookstore worker who he finds himself falling for but this goes against his every discipline and self teaching. This is where the film gains its title, in reference to the “heat around the corner” and being able to detach yourself from anything at the drop of a hat if necessary.
The direction is very typical of Mann’s recent films, with almost an eerie blue feel to it and an alternative feel to the Los Angeles we have come to imagine. The concrete landscapes and glittering lights provide great atmosphere and a sense of tension. As usual Mann’s use of music is fantastic and adds tremendously to the movie. Artists such as Joy Division and Moby lend their talents to the film and the music is used perfectly to compliment the scenes, in particular the closing sequence.
Overall Michael Mann has conjured up a neon masterpiece and has got all of the criteria right in this film. It is an excellent take on an old formula and re-aligned to match his vision. A classic.
10/10 on the Movie Richter
