Cries and Whispers
We saw
Miami Vice. Twice. In the same night.
The reason for this: It's fantastic!
Being reasonably familiar with the source tv show going in, and more so with Michael Mann's subsequent filmography, I wasn't nearly prepared for such a bizarre, convoluted glorious mess of a movie. It's all over the place, both geographically (South America, Cuba, Switzerland, Miami, natch) and stylistically (noir, melodrama, soft-core porn). For example, did you know: If a man cries in the shower, a voluptuous naked woman will infallibly appear and begin soaping him up? I didn't, but it's evidently true.
This occurs not once but twice in
Miami Vice.
The film doesn't so much open as just...
start, "Numb/Encore" blaring in some hip South Florida club, bodies shaking, illicit shit going down, Foxx and Farrell seemingly in mid-investigation. (We thought they'd forgotten a reel or something.) There's virtually no exposition from there. Just a series of places (shot, by Dion Beebe, in the same hi-def DV that made
Collateral so stunning), people (bring a scorecard), and uncommonly peculiar catch-phrases ("I'll never doubt you" is a personal favorite).
Oh, and staring. There's lots of staring. Lots and lots and lots of staring. Long staring. Moody staring. Artful staring. Thoughtful staring. Blank staring. Constipated staring. At one point, while bullying a police informant, Farrell suddenly stares out the window. At the ocean? Cut away to a medium shot. Of the ocean. And then back to the bullying. Why did this shot happen? Who knows? This movie's fucking
strange.
Later, we see a boat zipping speedily across the Atlantic. Close-up of Farrell answering his cell: "What's up?" "Where are you?" "I'm on my way back." Another shot of the boat. Scene.
This is a cult classic in the making, folks. Following the climactic shoot-out, Farrell, while fleeing the scene, urgently inquires about the status of (presumably) a fellow cop. What's remarkable about this is that we've never previously encountered, or even heard about, this other cop at any point during the preceding two hours. My best guess is that he had a scene or two that ended up on the cutting room floor. Still, the fact that he's "okay" comes as a great relief to us all.
The bittersweet denouement that follows involves--surprise!--more staring. Farrell stares. Gong Li stares back. Foxx, who has seemed on the verge of tears for most of the film's duration, keeps up the battle in a hospital room. And after a series of images that would make for fairly iconic closing shots, Farrell walks into the hospital, while several employees enjoy a cigarette break.
Miami Vice
Fin. A genuine must-see!
