- Manhunter
Somewhat hidden among the slate of lackluster January studio releases is Blackhat, the latest film by the mighty Michael Mann, America’s finest purveyor of machismo ennui, neon expressionism, ebullient firefights, and dynamic shots of zooming speedboats. I wouldn’t necessarily count myself among the cult of Mann—next to Paul W.S. Anderson, he’s probably the most revered and obsessed-over filmmaker among auteur fetishists—but I’m far from a skeptic. I suppose I’m still getting used to his digital phase. The confident craftsmanship that defined his early career—something that seems to have ended with The Insider—is largely absent from his later work. His recent films have an internalized, more handmade quality, which would seem to suggest that they’re more intimate, and though they very nearly are, the dull gloss of digital imagery keeps things at bay. For lack of a better term, things have gotten really weird with Mann: it’s almost like he’s trying to make 16-millimeter films with high-end digital cameras, resulting in some problematic yet gloriously fun and intellectually stimulating films (more on those below) and one outright failure (Public Enemies—yeesh!). I’ve yet to check out Blackhat, but I’m eager to see if the film finds Mann refining his recent approach. Until then, these are my five favorite Michael Mann movies.
- Thief (1981) One of the great debut features, using a New Hollywood neoclassical narrative framework—a beleaguered crook takes that proverbial One Last Job, and from there an existential moral episode is spun—and bathing it in neon light and Tangerine Dream. The film immediately announces Mann as a great director of action set pieces, but there’s a tremendous amount of character nuance here as well. Along with the panache and bravura of the opening sequence, there are genuine inquiries into the heart and mind of the protagonist that deepen as the story progresses. The nihilistic ending is a tough pill to swallow, but I find it bracing.
