MovieChat Forums > Collateral (2004) Discussion > Insane sociopath?

Insane sociopath?

posted 8 years ago by Lightbrand
8 replies | jump to latest

So Vincent holds no regards toward human life, got it.

But what I mean by insane is, he's presumably being paid to do hits rather than for free right? So after he lost the briefcase with all his cash and ID, and later his boss doesn't trust him and sent guys to kill him. Why is he still so set on killing Annie?

Yeah imagine you killed her, now what? You can't go back to the club to collect, that'd be suicide, if he's just going to get on a plane and leave then surely he's not expecting the mob to honor their agreement and do a e-transfer. So he's practically risking his life in the end there to do a volunteer hitman job. Sure he doesn't care about who lives or dies, but you're exerting so much effort for an outcome that doesn't matter to you in the end now that your money incentive is gone. So why do it? Just go home.

[–] DracTarashV2 (4497) 7 years ago

Good question. Ruling out the possibility that deep down he did enjoy his work, my take is he set out to kill Annie because he became so frustrated at having lost the briefcase, consequently he felt compelled to finish the job even if he didn’t get anything in return. He presumably never found himself in a situation like this before and he needed to give himself peace of mind by doing what he set out to do. He perhaps wanted to prove a point to himself and... maybe Max.

Or, he was so pissed off that, yes, he ultimately felt the urge to kill. If someone can spend their life killing others for money, then what’s stopping them from offing someone when they’re enraged? Vincent basically lost it.

[–] Goliard (1451) 7 years ago

It's a good question, if you assume he knew those were Felix's thugs in the club. Not sure how he would; given that there were all types of people shooting in that hectic scene.
If he did know, the movie doesn't answer your question. Maybe he's just that obsessed w/finishing what he starts, as a rule. Maybe he has history w/Felix we don't know about. Maybe, maybe. . .
If he didn't know, it's kind of a non-issue. He's just doing his job.

[–] jasonbourne (1027) 7 years ago

One interpretation is Vincent was ready to hang it up and end his life. Here's this cool customer Vincent and he's in control all the way until Max changes and decides to let it all hang out and crashes the cab. The reason Max continues to completes the job is to let us know that something has changed from Vincent the teacher/philosopher to Vincent the hitman not able to take his own advice. He becomes Max in that he has to complete his job just like the routine that Max's life is. The final shootout scene isn't just about two men trying to kill each other, but a battle between their life philosophies. In some ways, the freewheeling Vincent has become Max because he has to complete his job, i.e. "routine," even though he doesn't. He has to be anal about it just like we saw how Max was in the beginning. His inability to break out of his routine is evident in that he tries to shoot Max with a double tap and then a shot to the head. However, in his "routine," he fails to realize that something has changed and that a steel door is between them. All his talk and advice about improvising is replaced by Vincent's routine. It's a strange twist to what we find about these characters throughout the movie, but it's adds to the movie as we have to figure out what we just witnessed. The movie doesn't explain it for you. OTOH, Max has taken Vincent's advice and is freewheeling. He sees the situation with the door and even though he doesn't have the training, he gets lucky with one of the shots. It's not realistic that he gets this lucky, but it a way to end the movie so that we can start figuring out what we just witnessed.

[–] Ace_Spade (9658) 5 years ago

I think you've got it here: he doesn't know who's shooting at him.

The only other explanation is that he's finishing his job. He can't save every inch of his reputation after Max's interruptions, but he can salvage part of it.

"I let a cabbie stop me from doing my job" is bad.
"The cabbie interfered, but I still got the job done, darnit" is a lot better.

He might be preserving future work and reputation. He can then point out to other people in the assassination business that Felix trying to kill him was a betrayal, especially since he finished his job and made good on his word. That'll throw Felix to the wolves, letting Felix take the reputation hit instead of Vincent.

[–] LTUM (1071) 5 years ago

So Vincent holds no regards toward human life, got it.

But what I mean by insane is, he's presumably being paid to do hits rather than for free right? So after he lost the briefcase with all his cash and ID, and later his boss doesn't trust him and sent guys to kill him. Why is he still so set on killing Annie?

Yeah imagine you killed her, now what? You can't go back to the club to collect, that'd be suicide, if he's just going to get on a plane and leave then surely he's not expecting the mob to honor their agreement and do a e-transfer. So he's practically risking his life in the end there to do a volunteer hitman job. Sure he doesn't care about who lives or dies, but you're exerting so much effort for an outcome that doesn't matter to you in the end now that your money incentive is gone. So why do it? Just go home.

Great point. Totally agree. The motivation never made sense to me, even during my first viewing. Check my thread for another point about Vincent.

[–] TaRaNRoD (1579) 5 years ago

Well, maybe because he lost the money of someone who paid for the hit, usually people who pays for this are rich and dangerous. Maybe he just didn't want to make enemies and did the job.

[–] R_Kane (15828) 5 years ago

Please show me a sane psychopath. Really. Show me one.

Sheesh.

[–] Ace_Spade (9658) 5 years ago

Sociopath and psychopath are different (the OP did say "sociopath" in the title). But, yes, categorically, if you are either a sociopath or a psychopath you cannot (by definition) be "sane".