From Thief: Frank's montage-like photograph depicts people, places, and events from his past, present, and (desired) future life, all together pictorially as if they all exist 'here and now'. Frank desires to retire and settle down with a family, but he also desires to escape ordinary space-time (speaking metaphorically, of course); this can be accomplished, so he believes, by moving his newly-acquired family to Calfornia, which the movie suggests is, in some sense, outside the bounds of ordinary space and time (the specific idea of Calfornia existing outside the bounds of ordinary space/time, is covered in part 8 of the separate analysis of Thief on this blog).
From Heat: Vincent's view while driving. The song playing in this scene is called Always Forever Now, a title which is reminiscent of what was said about Frank's montage above.
From Heat: Vincent (far right) is located in California and is somewhat settled, with his own family of sorts, so in a sense he represents the achievement of Frank's goal. However, he soon 'discovers' that he can't hold a family together while devoting himself to chasing down criminals. This is the tension Mann is depicting, an internal tension that each of us lives with at some level or another: We want to be free of restraints, and yet at the same time we want stability in our lives; and within the context of these two competing desires, in no scenario are we ever wholly satisfied.
