A One Mann’s Movies review of “Heat” (1995)..
As a ‘cinephile’, there are still some very embarrassing movie omissions in my closet. One of those is “Heat”, directed by Uncle Michael (#notmyrealuncle). I managed to see this last night on the big screen as the latest of Everyman Cinema’s excellent “Throwback” series (with a free popcorn and glass of wine… bargain!). And I can see why it is such a lauded film. It is simply brilliant.
Plot:
Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) is a master criminal who, with his trusty gang by his side, execute audacious heists in LA. But hot on his heels is master cop Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino).
Certification:
UK: 15; US: R. (From the BBFC web site: “Contains strong language, violence and gore.”)
Talent:
Starring: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, Diane Venora, Amy Brenneman,
Ashley Judd, Mykelti Williamson, Wes Studi, Ted Levine, Dennis Haysbert, Natalie Portman, William Fichtner, Kevin Gage, Hank Azaria.
Directed by: Michael Mann.
Written by: Michael Mann.
Running Time: 2h 50m.
Summary:
Positives:
- Complex plotting with different strands intricately woven together.
- Brilliant cinematography and brilliant editing.
- Superb performances, especially from De Niro, Pacino, Kilmer and Judd.
Negatives:
- Some of the scenarios are a little far fetched!
- I was somewhat lost with the involvement of Marciano (Hank Azaria).
Full Review:
As good cinema should be.
Michael Mann’s script for “Heat” is really a work of art. It weaves a really complex plot around a bunch of interesting, deeply-flawed characters and manages to keep you completely invested in what happens to them. There are so many great strands in here:
- Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) on his third marriage but with the ever-present mistress of his police job taking him away. Wife Justine (Diane Venora) at the end of her tether and prepared to do anything to provoke a reaction. Step-daughter Lauren (a very young Natalie Portman) mentally falling apart and self-harming.
- Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro), the con with real brains. Protective of his gang, down to manipulating relationships to protect them. Ready to drop anything and anyone to run within 30 seconds if he “spots the heat coming round the corner”… but then finally smitten by Eady (Amy Brenneman). Unable to take any slight against himself unavenged: a flaw that proves to be his downfall.
- Compulsive gambler Chris Shiherlis (Val Kilmer), unable to stop flushing all his ill-gotten-gains down the casino drain. Loyal to his wife Charlene (Ashley Judd) and young son but she is having an affair and looking for a way out to leave him.
- Family man Michael Cheritto (Tom Sizemore) who has a lot to lose but is like a puppy-dog on McCauley’s leash.
- Ex-con Drucker (Mykelti Williamson) trying to make a go of it as a fast-food chef under a controlling and corrupt boss, but tempted by the dark-side.
- Waingro (Kevin Gage), the volatile new member of the gang, who turns out to be a psycho and a definite liability.
All of these threads are fed with great dialogue by Mann for the actors to get their teeth into. If “Heat” was a mini-series, each and every one of those strands could have been expanded out to a 40 minute episode, they are all so richly painted and scripted. When integrated into the overall plot they are crafted into a rich tapestry that keeps the film vibrant and alive.
Great technical arts.
Mann not only writes a great script but he then delivers it with astonishing prowess. The cinematography by Dante Spinotti is exceptional and the editing (a whole team of people: Pasquale Buba; William Goldenberg; Dov Hoenig and Tom Rolf) is astonishingly proficient. Every frame is in just the right place.
There are certain scenes in this film that take your breath away: one for me is the blowing off of the back doors of the security van, simultaneously smashing all of the windows in the cars in the garage forecourt. Was this done ‘for real’ with a single large charge in the van? Was it sugar-glass in the cars? Were all of the car windows individually primed? Dunno, but the shot is a masterpiece.
Two heavyweights of acting, face-to-face.
De Niro and Pacino had appeared together in The Godfather Part II in 1974, and they appeared most recently in “The Irishman“. But here, the pair are in the prime of their acting careers and both are utterly compelling in their own ways. Sure, Pacino goes over the top with some of his Pacino-isms, but it really adds to the depth of his character. And when, in highly unlikely fashion, the crook and the cop share a coffee together it’s one of the greatest ‘act-offs’ ever put on film. The scene is mesmerising and I’m sure it is a staple part of many college acting courses.
Elsewhere, the late Val Kilmer is equally impressive as the impassive and stone-cold right-hand-man to McCauley. His ‘balcony scene’, late in the film with Charlene (Ashley Judd) as his ‘Juliet’ is a superb piece of work by both actors.
A 13-year-old Natalie Portman also demonstrates why she is destined to be a big star with a small but mesmerising performance as the troubled Lauren.
I mean, it’s a classic, but…
It seems churlish to poke holes at such a classic film. But I will! Some of the scenarios in here are a bit hard to swallow. A huge bullet-ridden shoot-out in the centre of LA has automatic weapons that seemingly have bottomless cartridges, police officers who were trained at the Stormtrooper’s Academy, huge bags of money mysteriously injected with helium to make them lighter and a police officer who would dare to shoot someone carrying a child in the head from distance.
I also completely missed (as did the Illustrious Mrs Movie Man) who Marciano (Hank Azaria) was and his role in the plot: I don’t think this was explained terribly well. (He is actually the lover of Charlene Shiherlis, who the police blackmail into attracting Charlene to the police-infested ‘safe-house’.)
Summary Thoughts
Rightly regarded as a classic, this is a gloriously rich and entertaining heist drama. The biggest crime isn’t any of the ones shown on screen, but that fact that the movie was not nominated for a single Oscar in that year! 1995 was a strong year for cinema: the year of “Braveheart”; “Apollo 13”; “The Usual Suspects”; “Twelve Monkeys”; and “Sense and Sensibility”. But in my book, this should have received nods for at least some of these categories:
- Best Film
- Best Director: Michael Mann
- Best Original Screenplay: Michael Mann
- Best Actor: Robert De Niro
- Best Supporting Actor: Val Kilmer
- Best Cinematography: Dante Spinotti
- Best Editing: Pasquale Buba, William Goldenberg, Dov Hoenig and Tom Rolf
If, like me, you’ve never seen this one, give yourself a treat and check with the Justwatch widget where you can get to see it on streaming. Seeing it on the big screen was certainly a joy.
Where to Watch it?
Trailer:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpAhjOvQVj0.
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