Collateral Beauty
Written by: Allan Loeb
Directed by David Frankel
Starring: Will Smith, Edward Norton, Kate Winslet, and Helen Mirren
“Collateral Beauty,” blends a little bit of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” with Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life,” to give us this new film about love, loss, and what’s important in life. Howard (Will Smith) is a charismatic and extremely successful entrepreneur with a heart of gold until he loses his young daughter. This devastating event plummets him into an emotional hell, leaving his business and partners in financial shambles. In an effort to help Howard and the business, his partners hire actors to respond to his letters to the Universe including Love, Dea
th, and Time—the concepts he feels are responsible for taking the most precious gift from him.
We meet Howard before his 6 year old dies. He’s upbeat and charming, an amazingly gracious and giving leader of his ever-growing company. The story quickly jumps to the current day as we see a withdrawn, depressed, and unresponsive man who has physically aged much more than 2 years and now just going through the motions in life. His business partners, Whit (Edward Norton), Claire (Kate Winslet), and Simon (Michael Pena), hatch a plan to employee three out-of-work actors as the characters to whom Howard is writing. Brigitte aka “Death” (Helen Mirren), Amy aka “Love” (Keira Knightley), and Raffi aka “Time” (Jacob Latimore) visit Howard to either wake him up or document his crazy behavior in time to save the company.
“Collateral Beauty” is an emotionally touching film as we embark upon not only Howard’s journey of loss and healing, but each of the partners’ troubled lives as well. It’s a reminder that we are all connected and that no one truly knows our inner-struggles unless we are willing to look. We all have a story and it’s ok to need a helping hand every once in a while. While it is a rather predictable story, there are a couple of surprise twists that may just warm your heart and put a smile on your face. 
Smith, although the lead, has comparatively fewer lines than his co-stars. It’s his mere presence and how he sleepwalks through life captivates you as you imagine his hell on Earth. Smith brings believability to this character and creates empathy from the viewer. While Norton, Winslet, and Pena do an adequate job, it is, unsurprisingly, Mirren that pulls life into the film, ironically as the character of “Death.” The young Latimore also has a convincing role to play allowing us to see just a bit of the range this talented actor is capable of. And Ann Dowd (“Compliance”) is always a pleasure to see in any film, finding a way to bring a bit of humor and personality to the small, but vital part of the unassuming investigator.
“Collateral Beauty” may not be the next Oscar contender in any category, but it is a wonderful re-creation of what the holiday season’s message should be—cherish one another as we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. Even with a predictable and rather familiar story, you might find a few pleasant surprises along the way as well.
3 Stars