Identity is defined as the individual characteristics by which a person or thing is recognized. In the films Collateral and Miami Vice Michael Mann explores how identity is always fluctuating and that the “individual characteristics” by which we define ourselves are always changing, but our core selves remain the same. Almost like a computer, the software may be constantly changing but the hardware running it never does. Through the characters, story, and cinematography Mann exemplifies this.

In the mini documentary Miami Vice: Undercover from the Miami Vice DVD Michael Mann states “the best fabricated identity is yourself.” This idea that identity, though always changing, has a central core can be seen both in Collateral and Miami Vice. Mann’s main tool to portray this to the audience is through his characters. In the case of Max and Vincent, Mann shows us that even though they have the capability to take on each other’s personalities; their central selves remain the same. In the scene where Max plays Vincent in order to get Vincent’s hit list back, Max takes on the anti-hero role. While changing his attitude and confidence level, Max is simply using what he learned as a cab driver in a different circumstance. In the beginning of the film we see Max’s gift of observation when he immediately identifies Annie as a lawyer due to her appearance and actions. Later in the restaurant Max immediately knows that the body guard is reaching for his gun and warns him to put it away before he attacks him, Improvising to the set of his surroundings, his identity changes accordingly.

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