With awards season just a few weeks away I am trying to squeeze in as many movies as possible. This weekend I went with a friend to see "Collateral Beauty." The film stars Will Smith as a father mourning the loss of his six-year-old daughter.
When the movie opens, Smith's character, Howard, is young, charismatic and at the top of his game. He is the creative director for a very successful New York advertising agency. We only get to see that vibrant version of Howard for about 10 minutes before the film flashes forward three years.
*SPOILER ALERT! Do not read on if you do not want to know any particular details of the movie.*
After the jump, we find Howard with graying hair and completely withdrawn.
His work colleagues - Whit, Claire and Simon - are struggling to cover for him on all his major accounts. Due to his absence, many of their biggest clients are going elsewhere.
Howard used to say that any great ad played on one of three abstractions - love, time or death. As he tries to move on from his daughter's death, he decides to write letters to each of those three concepts and drop them in the mailbox. His team hires a private investigator, who brings them the letters. After reading Howard's pleas, they hatch a crazy plan - to hire three actors to play love, time and death.
The incredible Helen Mirren plays death. She dresses in head-to-toe blue to match her eyes. When she first appears to Howard, he is completely freaked out. She on the other hand, is thrilled with her dramatic performance.
Jacob Latimore plays time. He pushes Howard to wake up from his catatonic state and to start living again.
Lastly, Keira Knightley plays love. How appropriate in the season of "Love Actually."
In the final twenty minutes of the film there is a big reveal about Howard's relationship to one of the other characters. In that scene, when he is forced to truly confront the pain he feels over the loss of his daughter, I cried. Not a single tear, I am talking tears streaming, lip quivering - the works.
The movie is only 90 minutes, which in my opinion, is the perfect length for a film. Will Smith delivers a heartfelt performance, as do the three actors who play his team at work - Edward Norton, Kate Winslet and Michael Peña. For me, Helen Mirren stole the show (surprise, surprise).
If you have young children, I would advise against seeing this movie. It would be way too emotional.
Next up, I plan to see "La La Land" on Christmas Day!
Comments
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