'The Sun Rises and Sets With Her, Man'

"Michael Mann's movies are appraised by many critics and audiences alike as movies for men. It's easy to understand why: His gangsters and crime fighters are gruff and self-important, dominating the screen with close-ups of their deathly serious expressions. Though his movies often feature compelling female characters, the typical Mann plot involves a man-or two, or three-hashing out some plan of action."

"But these men are also compelled by love-and without the push and pull of romance, there would be no deeper story within many of his films. If many cinematic romances imagine how two people can overcome adversity through love, a Mann romance is more about how love itself can be the adversity. Were it not for their relationships, the highly skilled professionals in his movies might endlessly and easily rob every bank or catch every criminal."

Michael Mann's films frequently foreground gruff, self-important men—gangsters and crime fighters—whose severe close-ups emphasize masculinity. Plots often follow small groups of men planning action, yet romantic attachments supply the deeper dramatic engine. Love in these films typically functions as an impediment that undermines otherwise highly skilled professionals, introducing risks and instability into their lives. Heat (1995) most clearly demonstrates this pattern, layering a cops-and-robbers dynamic over the fragile marriage of Chris and Charlene, whose conflicting needs—reckless heists versus a search for stability—turn their relationship into a mutual liability.

Read at The Atlantic