The film is the simple story of a police sergeant who investigates a recent robbery, learning that the crew is planning an elaborate bank robbery though its leader is on the hunt for a criminal who had betrayed them. It is a film that explores two men who are both determined in their work but also deal with troubles in their personal lives where a cat-and-mouse chase between the two would occur. Michael Mann’s script is straightforward in its exploration of these two men who are on different sides of the law as they also go through great extremes to deal with one another as Sgt. Vincent Hanna (Scott Plank) is trying to capture a group of men who robbed an armored car while his marriage to Lillian (Ely Pouget) is falling apart due to the demands of his job. Patrick McLaren (Alex McArthur) was the mastermind behind the heist, yet it went wrong with his recruit Waingro (Xander Berkeley) kills the guards and goes on the run as he would take part in a series of murders of prostitutes. It would lead to McLaren going on a hunt while trying to stage another heist while also forging a new relationship with Eady (Laura Harrington).
Mann’s direction is stylish in terms of the way he uses Los Angeles as a character through its aerial shots of the city, highways, and its different locations as well as use it as a place in this conflict between order and disorder. While it is shot on a 1:33:1 aspect ratio since it was filmed for television and was originally meant to be a TV pilot that expanded into a film. Mann does use some wide and medium shots to play into the scope of the city with certain locations being key to how a heist is set up or a world that is vibrant but also dangerous. Still, Mann does maintain some intimacy in the way characters meet such a diner where McLaren and his colleagues meet or a coffee shop where Sgt. Hanna and McLaren meet in a key scene about who they are and what they are about. It plays into these two men who are on opposites of the law, but they have a code of honor in the way they do things as well as not wanting people to be killed even they did not mean to.
There is a big shootout scene in the third function as it is intense though considering that it was made for television. The violence is kept to a certain restraint while Mann’s approach to suspense is also filled with a sense of urgency into what characters must do in a situation. Even as Mann would use hand-held cameras and tracking shots to capture some of the intensity of these scenes, though much of the violence is shown offscreen apart from a few key moments. The film’s climax revolves around this chase of Sgt. Hanna going after McLaren who is trying to find where Waingro is as he has been this loose end that has been trouble for everyone. Overall, Mann crafts a riveting and engaging film about a conflict between a police detective and a criminal who both deal with their own personal and existential issues.
Cinematographer Ronald Victor Garcia does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of available lights for some of the exterior scenes at night as well as some natural lighting for some of the film’s daytime exterior scenes and low-key lights for the interior scenes at night. Editor Dov Hoenig does incredible work with the editing with its stylish usage of jump-cuts and fast-cuts to play into the action as well as the suspense with some straightforward cuts to slow things down. Production designer Dean Taucher, along with set decorator Don Diers and art director John Krenz Reinhart Jr., does excellent work with the look of the home that Hanna lives in as well as some of the hotels/motels that Waingro would hide out at. Costume designer Patricia Field does fantastic work with the costumes in the stylish suits that Hanna and his men wear that McLaren and his team also wear.
The special effects work of Richard Stutman is terrific for the stunt work that occurs including scenes involving the heists and other action sequences. Sound editor John A. Larsen does superb work with the sound in capturing the way gunfire sounds up close and from afar as well as the sounds of how music is heard on a location. The film’s music by Tim Truman is amazing for its ambient-based electronic score with elements of rock in some part with its soundtrack consisting of music in clubs whether it’s salsa or pop with two notable songs featured in the film in Jane’s Addiction’s cover of the Rolling Stones’ Sympathy for the Devil and Billy Idol’s cover of the Doors’ L.A. Woman.
The casting by Bonnie Timmerman is wonderful as it features some notable small roles and appearances from Clarence Gilyard Jr. as a getaway driver for McLaren in the bank heist, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as a friend of Waingro that Hanna later confronts, Juan Fernandez as an informant for Hanna, R.D. McCall as an informer for McLaren, Sam J. Jones as a man that harasses Lillian at the club she works at, the trio of Daniel Baldwin, Victor Rivers, and Richard Chaves in their respective roles as Hanna’s fellow detectives in Detective Bobby Schwartz, Detective Arriaga, and Detective Lou Casals, and Laura Harrington as McLaren’s love interest Eady who is fascinated by McLaren’s view on the world though she has no idea what he does until later on.
Peter Dobson and Vincent Guastaferro are superb in their respective roles as Chris Sheherlis and Michael Cerrito as two of McLaren’s fellow thieves who also take part in the planning and working the heists as they hope to use the money to provide good lives for their families. Ely Pouget is fantastic as Hanna’s wife Lillian who starts to feel neglected by his duties as a detective while also dealing with an incident involving the guy who was harassing her that Hanna would beat up. Michael Rooker is excellent as Hanna’s second-in-command in Detective Bosko who would help in the investigation while also taking charge in surveying McLaren and his men.
Xander Berkeley is brilliant as Waingro as the new guy in McLaren’s crew who proves to be a loose cannon as well as a liability where he kills people as well as do what he can to make things for both Hanna and McLaren difficult. Alex McArthur is amazing as Patrick McLaren as an expert thief who leads the heists as he deals with trying to find Waingro and kill him as well as deal with his own need to have a life outside of crime even though being a thief is all he really knows. Finally, there’s Scott Plank in an incredible performance as Sgt. Vincent Hanna as a police detective that is obsessed in trying to capture McLaren as well as do his work though it takes much of his time in his personal life.
L.A. Takedown is a marvelous film by Michael Mann. Featuring an excellent cast, stylish visuals, frenetic editing, and a killer music soundtrack. It is a crime film that is engaging to watch although it is unfortunate that it is overshadowed by its far superior remake in Heat. In the end, L.A. Takedown is a remarkable film by Michael Mann.
Michael Mann Films: The Jericho Mile - Thief (1981 film) - The Keep - Manhunter - The Last of the Mohicans (1992 film) - Heat - The Insider – Ali - Collateral - Miami Vice - Public Enemies - Blackhat - Blackhat - Ferrari – (Heat 2) - The Auteurs #73: Michael Mann Pt.1 - Pt. 2
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