Vincent (Collateral)

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*Collateral* Character
Vincent, as seen in the poster for the film
Name:	Vincent
Profession:	Contract killer
Portrayed by:	Tom Cruise
Location of birth:	Gary, Indiana
Location of death:	Los Angeles, California
Status:	Deceased
Cause of death:	Gunshot wound
Creator:	Michael Mann, Stuart Beattie

Vincent is a fictional character, played by Tom Cruise, in Michael Mann's 2004 film Collateral.

1 Role in the film
2 Personality
3 Theme
4 Trivia
5 External links

[edit] Role in the film

Vincent is a hired assassin sent to Los Angeles to eliminate five witnesses in an unspecified criminal case. He is first seen as he arrives in LAX where he acquires a briefcase (from a character played by Jason Statham), presumably from a contact in some way connected to his clients. Vincent later emerges from the DAs office and searches for a taxi, finding his ride with cabdriver Max (played by Jamie Foxx), whom he promptly orders to drive into downtown Los Angeles. He claims to be a real estate broker in town to close a deal. When Max delivers Vincent to his location in a timely manner, Vincent offers the cabbie a proposition: to let him rent the cab all night and make five stops. Though Max is hestitant at first, he agrees when Vincent offers him $600 dollars to be his hired cab for the night, and another $100 to get him to his plane with time to spare. During the first stop, however, when Vincent tells Max to meet him in the alley behind the building, his true plans are revealed when a bullet-ridden corpse crashes down atop the cab, with Max still inside.

While Max is trying to digest what just happened, Vincent appears in the alley. Realizing his cover-story blown, Vincent draws his pistol and makes it painfully clear to Max that he will remain his driver for the duration of the evening and forces Max to help him conceal the body in the trunk of the cab. Seeing no alternative, a terrified Max agrees to continue, fearing for his life. Over the course of the night, Max shuttles Vincent to the address of each successive target, thereby endangering his life and getting him more involved with every murder. Vincent even forces Max to negotiate with Felix, the kingpin connected to the Colombians that ordered the assassinations. It all comes to a head when Max learns that Vincent's last target is the assistant U.S. attorney (Max's love interest) he drove across town earlier in the film. Following an intense foot chase, a terrified Max manages to fatally wound Vincent in a climactic barrage of gunfire on the subway.

[edit] Personality

During the film, little is learned of Vincent's past or personal life. Though much may be inferred through Vincent's actions and extraordinary skills he displays throughout the film, very little is explicitly stated. The audience and Max are in much the same position, only learning about Vincent what he chooses to tell the cabdriver.

One hint as to Vincent's life before that night is given mid-way through the film; an FBI Special Agent informs two LAPD Narcotics Detectives that Colombian drug cartels routinely hire out ex-Special Forces, Stasi, and KGB agents as contract killers. At some point during his life, Vincent acquired the skills of an efficient professional killer. Though neither the audience nor any character in the film learns how Vincent became an assassin, it is clear that he has been professionally trained in techniques widely used in Special Forces: witness his formidable close quarters combat abilities, and use of the double tap and Mozambique Drill firearms techniques in his various assassinations and murders. His actions appear instinctive, his movements economical and swift. The only information he gives regarding his career experience is his admission to Max, "private sector, six years".

Vincent is a man of action, thriving on spontaneity, constant change, and improvisation. This facet of his personality is a major theme of the movie. Mann has said that the most important theme of the film deals with the clash of ideals between Max's meticulous, ordered life and Vincent's unplanned, amoral lifestyle. Vincent's reverence for improvisation is displayed in the numerous conversations and arguments he has with Max, in which he expresses such mantras as "shit happens" and "you gotta roll with it" as words to live by. By the end of the film, Vincent's embrace of the moment at the expense of all else teaches Max to take more chances with his life, as he suspects that his captor would kill him at any given moment once he outlived his usefulness.

Interestingly, Vincent doesn't necessarily consider Max as expendable as he initially thought. Both Vincent and Max need each other. Max's knowledge of the city streets is crucial to allowing Vincent to make each hit in a timely fashion. Vincent is also encouraging the timid Max to gain self-confidence and stand up for himself, by encouraging him to talk back to the cab company dispatcher and calling the number on his female friend's business card. And during the nightclub scene, while Vincent does put Max in harms way by making him bait, Vincent also saves his life from Felix's hitmen.

During an fnac Forum discussion about the film in August 2004, Mann describes Vincent as "truly a sociopath". He also explains in the "making of" featurette that Vincent's character grew up in the slums of Gary, Indiana and that his mother died in childbirth. Mann suggests in both the featurette and commentary that Vincent is gradually falling apart over the course of the night, and that his odd (almost brotherly) relationship with Max is causing him to reflect on the demons of his troubled childhood and playing havoc on his psyche. The one piece of information given about Vincent's personal life is an off-the-cuff remark about an abusive, alcoholic father that he killed; however Vincent quickly recants his story and says that his father "actually" died of liver disease when he was twelve years old.

[edit] Theme

Michael Mann himself has stated, in the film's DVD commentary, that the general idea behind Collateral is the clashing of ideals behind the two main characters. Vincent is obsessed with improvisation, often mentioning his reverence for constant change and making things up as he goes along almost as an art form (also reflected by his love of jazz), and definitely as a way of life, whereas Max has been driving cabs for twelve years because he believes that everything he does must be meticulously planned, especially the "Island Limos" company he wishes to set up.

This, of course, is merely one interpretation, but being the one of the director, it is most likely the one that was intended. Another interpretation implies improvisation as a way to live life. Vincent was at his best when improvising and Max was always restricted by his meticulous planning. In the final shootout, Vincent failed to adapt and fired straight ahead, hitting the doors separating him from Max. Max, on the other hand, moved to the side and fired chaotically through the windows, emptying his gun. Due to Vincent's close proximity, Max was able to hit him in the abdomen with a lucky shot. Keeping in line with other events in the film, the victor of this confrontation was the one who was most able to adapt; Max.

Interestingly, Mann's other major crime-drama film, Heat begins with Robert DeNiro's character at an MTA station very similar to the one where Collateral ends. Similarly, Heat begins at an MTA station and ends at an airport, whereas Collateral begins at an airport and ends at an MTA station. On the DVD commentary for Collateral, Mann confirms that it is the same MTA station in both movies.

Another connection with Heat, and other movies of his involving criminals is the focus on the dichotomy of personalities. Heat actually has the reverse, with Al Pacino's character, the detective (also named Vincent) being the one that seems to be focused on adaptation and impulse, whereas DeNiro's criminal character is obsessively methodical with his giving into impulse leading to his downfall.

One theme within the film is the title itself: Collateral. One element behind the title is Max's mother and Vincent's threat that he will kill her. This example of awareness to Vincent's surroundings serves as a way of further showing his ability to improvise and read his situation. He sees that Max is getting scared after the jazz club incident and snatches at an opportunity to gain the collateral he seeks on Max, should he decide to be uncooperative. Rather than kill Max and find another liaison to L.A., he finds a weakness outside of Max's physicality and exploits it ruthlessly. As a result, Max is mistaken to be the deadly assassin by both FBI and thugs, which leaves Vincent virtually unnoticed in the nightclub to make his kill.

On the other hand, collateral works to both men's advantages. Both Vincent and Max need each other. Max's knowledge of the city streets is crucial to allowing Vincent to make each hit in a timely fashion. Vincent is also encouraging the timid Max to gain self-confidence and stand up for himself, by encouraging him to talk back to the cab company dispatcher and calling the number on his female friend's business card.

Another meaning of the title is Vincent's tendency to avoid collateral damage if possible, as most of the deaths he causes are instrumental. When Max is filling up at the gas station, Vincent warns that attracting attention would "get people killed that didn't need to be" (fortunately, the dead bodies of the two thugs that tried to steal Vincent's briefcase did not give Detective Fanning much clues, other than that it was the work of a professional assassin). Another example is in the nightclub, where Vincent warns Max to move a set number of paces to avoid stray bullets. Vincent blends in with the crowd and avoids drawing his gun until encountering the third bodyguard.

[edit] Trivia

Tom Cruise's character, Vincent, wears a similar suit to that of Robert de Niro's character in a 1995 Michael Mann film, Heat. This is no coincidence as Mann's research indicated that both characters would dedicate their appearance to being difficult to describe. Both men are medium build and height, grey and white suit with a light beard. Vincent goes further and has his hair dyed silver grey and his facial hair is less pronounced (he has facial hair but it's not a full beard). This lends his appearance a low contrast, colorless look that will not draw attention to itself. Both Vincent and McCauly in Heat use the Mozambique Drill and even the words "double tap to the sternum and one to the head" make it into the films. This shooting style is now standard training for most police departments world-wide and military special ops.
In the nightclub scene the lead detective says the phrase "Get clean shots, watch your background..." over his radio to the rest of the SWAT team. This is the same line spoken by Vincent Hanna (played by Al Pacino) in Heat, also directed by Michael Mann. The phrase refers to the problem of bullet over-penetration, i.e. rounds fired at a suspect may continue for some distance and injure bystanders or hostages. It also refers to potential injuries caused by rounds that miss their intended target.
To prepare for his role as Vincent as a person who could get in and out of anywhere without being recognized or remembered, Tom Cruise made FedEx deliveries in a crowded Los Angeles market without being recognized - one of these deliveries can be seen on the DVD.
There is an error in the final sequence of the movie concerning the MTA blue line: while Max & Annie are making their getaway from Vincent, the destination that the train is headed for isn't the usual path the blue line takes but instead end up going the route of the MTA Green Line and ending up at the end of the line in Redondo Beach instead of Long Beach
The "Black Peter" (Zwarte Piet) Christmas story that Felix tells is a real-life folktale; however, it is not a Mexican tale, but rather a Dutch one.
The laptop that Vincent uses in the film is an HP Compaq TC1100 tablet PC.
Vincent's weapons include a standard H&K USP in .45 ACP, a Ruger MK III .22 with integrated suppressor, a Chris Reeve Knives left-handed Sebenza and a Smith and Wesson 659 (which he took from a security guard late in the film). He is also adept at hand-to-hand fighting.
Vincent kills fourteen people in one night. He was originally assigned to kill five, of which he successfully managed four. Unintended kills or collateral damage include: the two thugs trying to steal his briefcase, five of Peter Lim's bodyguards (one's neck was broken, four were shot with at least two rounds in the sternum), one of Felix's henchmen, LAPD Detective Fanning, and the security guard in the lobby of the U.S. Attorney's office.