COLLATERAL
Collateral examines the theme of masculine professionalism in a similar yet different way than Heat and Public Enemies do. Both of those films present two highly professional characters, who are directly opposed to one another because of their chosen careers, i.e. thieves vs. cops. In Collateral, however Michael Mann presents an archetypical professional in Tom Cruise's hitman Vincent. Vincent is very similar to DeNiro's Neil McCauley in Heat, yet Vincent is more detached and efficient because he is more sociopathic.
While there is a police presence in Collateral, Mann does not contrast Vincent with another professional in the form of a cop. Instead, he uses cab driver Max, played by Jamie Foxx, to show the dynamic of a highly controlled, calculated person interacting with a very passive individual. Max is serious about being a good cab driver, but he lacks the true courage to move on to bigger and better things. The two men begin interacting at a very surface, small-talk level until the story takes an abrupt turn and forces them to be more open with each other. Through the course of their shared experiences, Cruise's character commands every situation and provides a snapshot of decisiveness for Max to observe.
As the story continues to unfold and Vincent observes the way Max is reacting to the night's events, he begins to challenge and criticize Max for the way he lives his life. In doing so, Vincent unknowingly flips a switch in Max and empowers him to actively face the situation in front of him instead of passively accepting it and everything else in life. The result is a shift in power that Vincent is not prepared for. By choosing to contrast a highly controlled professional character with an unconfident, passive character, Mann examines the notion of professionalism from a very unique perspective. This approach also allows for a much more dynamic character arc and shift of power than is possible in some of his other films.