Collateral Beauty

David Frankel’s Collateral Beauty, featuring an all-star cast, is the story of Howard (Will Smith), a man in suffering following the death of his daughter, whose employees, Whit, Claire and Simon (Edward Norton, Kate Winslet and Michael Peña), fearing the fall of their livelihoods, find themselves compromised as they hatch a plan. Finding that Howard has been writing letters to abstractions – Death, Time and Love – the three employees call upon three struggling actors, Brigitte, Raffi and Aimee (Helen Mirren, Jacob Latimore and Keira Knightley) to personify these concepts and confront Howard. Meanwhile, Howard seeks the help of support group leader Madeleine (Naomie Harris) as the plot unfolds.

The narrative seems to have some familiarity to that of Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, with Death, Time and Love comparable to the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet To Come, respectively. It is no coincidence that the film takes place at Christmastime. But just because it may draw inspiration from a story that’s been retold again and again, that doesn’t mean there are no surprises. The plot is structured differently, Howard’s emotional need differs from that of Scrooge, and many of the characters seem to be original inventions. Whit, Claire and Simon have themes or subplots associated with them relative to the role of the actor they mentor; in fact there’s not as much Will Smith in this movie as one would expect. There are a couple of revelations that perhaps would have been better left ambiguous or implied, one in particular towards the end involving a scene in the hospital. Nonetheless, the ending is emotional. The film isn’t necessarily hard to dissect but its themes are woven in – no scene goes to waste.

Everyone’s acting here is superb. In the prologue Will Smith seems like a life-loving man, so the transition to his depressed face hits like a brick. His expression, intensity magnified with use of makeup, has great effectiveness. Brigitte, Raffi and Aimee are quite enjoyable. Each of their characters has personality traits relevant to their role, like Aimee’s conscientiousness and Raffi’s impatience. All the actors give charming performances and their characters have different personalities, identities, wants and concerns.

The film is beautifully lit and coloured. The costumes stand out so everyone has a distinguishable look. The costumes for Love, Death and Time, especially, seem appropriate to what their modernised personifications would look like – if they had great fashion sense.

Collateral Beauty is a wonderful little picture. There is beauty in the simplicity of the concept and structure of this film. The acting is top-notch, the characters are enjoyable, the drama is compelling and emotional, the story is well told and the way it is told is clever and inventive. No scene is surplus. It is beautiful visually and in its execution, with an advised focus on story rather than the obstacles of a single protagonist. Well-recommended.