HeatIs the job a man does what defines him, or is it another escape, a way to put on another disguise, to run from the rest of it? Michael Mann's crime film Heat is a story of cops and robbers, a tense game of cat and mouse between intense and razor-sharp detective Lt. Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino), and his quarry: a cadre of highly skilled, professional thieves, including loner and field leader, Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro). Outside of their prescribed occupations placing them at odds with one another, their personal lives are sacrificed on the altar of their respective professions, consumed by their roles in this clash on opposite sides of the law.
|
|
Michael Mann has built a filmmaking career out of crime stories, but ones that are more than just procedural drama and gunfights--and there is plenty of that in Heat--stories which are meditative and ambient, ones which plumb the inner processes of what goes on in the minds of both the criminal and his pursuer in the name of justice. Similar to Mann's Thief, Heat opens with a detailed and tight event showcasing the level of professionalism and technical prowess of the criminals at the center of the story. Mann's style of crime action and detail is so iconic in its tension and suspenseful realism, that it has been referenced in films including Christopher Nolan's Batman film, The Dark Knight. The Los Angeles of Heat is a smoky realm where crime is a part of the ecosystem of this city, similar to other neo-noir crime dramas like To Live and Die in L.A., the kind of place where complex heists like those performed by McCauley and his crew are just waiting to happen. It is a place dimly lit by streetlamps and neon, where the rare moments of peace come from a meditative gaze across the Pacific Ocean from the view of McCauley's vacant home, or the seduction of a blanket of lights beneath a hillside view, the sprawl of the city under the night's sky. Although Hanna appears to navigate the unsavory underbelly of the city with ease and confidence, his third marriage is crumbling around him, due to distancing his work life from his home one, and how he ultimately puts his occupation before the needs of his wife, Justine (Diane Venora). It is not because Vincent is an inattentive man, but because he is drawn so tightly into his job role that he cannot purely distance himself from it, yet he doesn't want to involve his loved ones in the tragedies he's experienced. But this also comes from a lack of trust; it's not as though he is actively looking to hurt his new family, but that he's ill-equipped to handle a relationship when he's been so entrenched in surveillance, gunfights, investigations, and more--because in his mind, if he doesn't do it, who will? Neil, on the other hand, has tried his hand at being the distant loner, believing that the only way he can protect himself from becoming vulnerable--and thus, potentially caught--is to make anything in his life something he can drop, in his words, within thirty seconds and not look back. He avoids relationships until he is approached by a young woman named Eady (Amy Brenneman), a graphic designer who stirs something in him, whether it's merely the attention he didn't know he needed, a break from his intensive thieving pursuits, or simply a change in his life. Eady challenges Neil to redefine his values; but when things are as set as they are for a career crook like Neil, can he even change?
Heat was promoted as a "collision" between two crime movie superstars, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, both of whom had made their careers as master actors in the crime genre in films like The Godfather. Their characters' stories are the gauges on which this spectrum of crime and law is marked, as well as their characters' personal lives as a contrast. The most quintessential scene in Heat that brings this tension to a head comes with a dialogue in a diner between Vincent and Neil. Although it is superficially just a conversation between the two men, one senses the spirit of a battle of wills between these two egos, with Pacino as the cop, and De Niro as the thief, a battle of heavyweights in context and in spirit, their respective personae making veiled threats, posturing, drawing lines in the sand. Along with McCauley, one of his crew, Chris Shiherlis (Val Kilmer), struggles with a gambling addiction, which has affected his own family life with his wife, Charlene (Ashley Judd), and his son. All three of these men face trials in their own relationships with women, fumbling in their personal lives whereas they are consummate professionals in their respective trades. In essence, these overly committed men are running from their personal lives through their occupations. That it is a "game" of cops and robbers is revealing because it is the kind of activity performed by young boys, just as these men shirk the responsibilities of a "normal", grown up life. McCauley snidely replies to the implications of this when Hanna suggests he quit in favor of it as an empty suggestion. Although Hanna and McCauley are on different sides of the law, there is little in their personal lives which suggest strongly that either man is necessarily good or evil, though they both commit acts outside the law in varying degrees; it's as if the division is less important than the drive for competition. Both sides of the conflict even engage in outings which are common enough for anyone, like inviting their respective co-workers and their wives out to dinner and similar social events, their respective circles of friends in their not so different worlds. The title, Heat, is implied to describe the ratcheting up of pressure by law enforcement on the criminals in the film, desperate to win in this complicated series of skirmishes, including explosive firefights in the streets, at airports, and more. But what is also suggested by the title is that there is the heat which comes from interpersonal relationships, from the connections born out of being with someone who compliments you in life. Although Vincent, Neil, and Chris all suffer from some kind of dysfunction in their personal lives, it is because of their lives away from their jobs that they have any depth or complexity as a human being. These men, cop or robber, exist in a cold world, one where crime is their way of life. The time they share with those they love gives them a crucial touch point of warmth--of heat--in this emotionally barren city.
Recommended for: Fans of an introspective and detailed procedural crime story, with loads of action as well as complex, emotionally sheltered men who must confront their own psychological hurdles in tandem with the high-speed game of cat and mouse they are caught within.
Heat was promoted as a "collision" between two crime movie superstars, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, both of whom had made their careers as master actors in the crime genre in films like The Godfather. Their characters' stories are the gauges on which this spectrum of crime and law is marked, as well as their characters' personal lives as a contrast. The most quintessential scene in Heat that brings this tension to a head comes with a dialogue in a diner between Vincent and Neil. Although it is superficially just a conversation between the two men, one senses the spirit of a battle of wills between these two egos, with Pacino as the cop, and De Niro as the thief, a battle of heavyweights in context and in spirit, their respective personae making veiled threats, posturing, drawing lines in the sand. Along with McCauley, one of his crew, Chris Shiherlis (Val Kilmer), struggles with a gambling addiction, which has affected his own family life with his wife, Charlene (Ashley Judd), and his son. All three of these men face trials in their own relationships with women, fumbling in their personal lives whereas they are consummate professionals in their respective trades. In essence, these overly committed men are running from their personal lives through their occupations. That it is a "game" of cops and robbers is revealing because it is the kind of activity performed by young boys, just as these men shirk the responsibilities of a "normal", grown up life. McCauley snidely replies to the implications of this when Hanna suggests he quit in favor of it as an empty suggestion. Although Hanna and McCauley are on different sides of the law, there is little in their personal lives which suggest strongly that either man is necessarily good or evil, though they both commit acts outside the law in varying degrees; it's as if the division is less important than the drive for competition. Both sides of the conflict even engage in outings which are common enough for anyone, like inviting their respective co-workers and their wives out to dinner and similar social events, their respective circles of friends in their not so different worlds. The title, Heat, is implied to describe the ratcheting up of pressure by law enforcement on the criminals in the film, desperate to win in this complicated series of skirmishes, including explosive firefights in the streets, at airports, and more. But what is also suggested by the title is that there is the heat which comes from interpersonal relationships, from the connections born out of being with someone who compliments you in life. Although Vincent, Neil, and Chris all suffer from some kind of dysfunction in their personal lives, it is because of their lives away from their jobs that they have any depth or complexity as a human being. These men, cop or robber, exist in a cold world, one where crime is their way of life. The time they share with those they love gives them a crucial touch point of warmth--of heat--in this emotionally barren city.
Recommended for: Fans of an introspective and detailed procedural crime story, with loads of action as well as complex, emotionally sheltered men who must confront their own psychological hurdles in tandem with the high-speed game of cat and mouse they are caught within.