Collateral Beauty (2016)

Movies like this are usually not in my choice to watch. Lately I watched lots of Marvel and Romance, then I thought "hey, the hulk actor plays in this, lets see it"Definitely not dissapointed! Surprised that i want to keep this in my movie list for a later rewatch when I usually just do that to certain Action movies and a few selected Romance movies (and some comedies, but rather rare), yet this movie doesnt fit in any of the categories. And then this!Just writing like this because i dont want to spoil even a bit of it. Watch it, it will be worth it.

Although January has been known to be the dumping ground for films that studios don't believe in, December has also become that month as well. Yes, December and January is usually when you can go to any cinema and find a handful of films that will be nominated for #Oscars, ensuring your satisfaction at the movies. Having said that, smaller studio films are placed next to a huge blockbuster, because they don't know where else to place it. After seeing a few trailers for Collateral Beauty it truly made me think it was going to be a very enjoyable time at the theatre. Sadly, there is a reason that it was released alongside Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, not due to the fact that it wanted to compete for best quality, but because it really won't end up finding a huge fanbase. Why? Collateral Beauty is one of the most manipulative films I have seen in a long time. Let's dive in. Minor spoilers to follow. Read at your own risk. The plot of this film will be jarring to explain for those who don't know, because the trailers have technically been lying to you. Making it out to be a happy-go-lucky film about a man who has lost a child and is visited by embodiments of love, time, and death, Collateral Beauty masks its actual story, which really is about a man who is grieving the loss of his daughter, but also is about to lose his company, due to lack of focus. His employees gather together and hire actors to portray the embodiments of love, time, and death in order to stoop to his level after he writes letters to these "things." Not only is this a very mean-spirited film in my personal opinion, but it also takes away the magic of what the trailers advertise, even if that story would have been cheesier. If I had to choose between a mean-spirited or a sappy film, I would have choose sappy every day of the week. Although I have to admit that I disliked this film overall, the biggest compliment I can give Collateral Beauty, is the fact that it kept pulling me back in, due to the terrific performances. Everyone in this film seems to be giving it their all here, especially Will Smith. He is a man of very few words here, but his expressions and few scenes of complete mental and emotional breakdowns were truly heartbreaking. Helen Mirren, Keira Knightley, Michael Pena, Edward Norton, Kate Winslet, Naomi Harris, and Jacob Latimore all give commendable performances, and play off of each other in quite a believable way. Sadly, looking back on this film, these performances are what made this bore of a film watchable. Sure, the film is competently made, but there was so much room for expansion. The most frustrating aspect about Collateral Beauty was the amount of side stories with every character. The core story here is about Howard (Will Smith), but everyone else receives just as much screen time as him in order to develop their relationships outside of work. These people are supposed to be his friends, yet they do a very mean thing to him, and yet we are also supposed to care about their personal lives, while the story needs you to care about Howard the most. On top of that, just so that the film can have a big reveal in its final act, Howard's backstory is completely glossed over and given to the audience periodically throughout the film. This made the film extremely messy and I hardly found myself emotionally invested in any of it. In the end, Collateral Beauty it far too manipulative to fully enjoy and although I undoubtedly admired the fact that this is an original film, it was too messy to connect with me. I didn't like this film very much, but the performances are all terrific and while they do belong in a better film, that is the sole aspect that kept latching me on. I was able to grasp onto a few elements and Will Smith made me shed a tear for an instant, but only due to the fact that he committed himself to this role. The story itself is completely lacking depth and should have stuck with a more spiritual route in my opinion. It is competently directed by David Frankel, but sloppily constructed by writer Allan Loeb, who has actually made a couple films I have enjoyed in the past, such as 21. I found myself going back and forth between liking and disliking Collateral Beauty, but in the end, it is completely forgettable and I'll probably never find myself revisiting it. I can't get myself to recommend this film to anyone, but if you are a fan of any of these actors, you'll at least enjoy their performance. This is a mediocre premise that needed some tweaking, but ultimately even falls short of that pedestal as a whole.

I'm a sucker for a happy ending. They are very rare in movies with black casts and leads. Beautiful happy ending with him and his wife being able to reconcile and heal from mourning their daughters loss and his eventual journey to acceptance of the truth. Its great how the wife gave him his space, knew his condition and let him come back to her and recognize her on his own terms but never gave up on him.

Some of you may have seen the understated adverts for Collateral Beauty during its release in 2016. I remember seeing them and thinking, its just another of those feel good comedy films thats not really that special, why should I watch this one? Consequently, I didn't watch the film until now.Having recently seen this appear on streaming services I thought, what have I got to lose except the 93 mins run time it has and, to be honest, I can even do something while watching if it is that bad.Well, how wrong I was! I am genuinely glad I watched this film and found myself hooked by the end. I strongly recommend it, especially if you liked films like Seven Pounds, also featuring Will Smith.Don't get me wrong the start of this film leaves you with a lot of questions and not a lot of answers. The key character, Howard Inlet played by Will Smith, is so aloof I even found myself questioning if he was indeed the lead character. Surrounded by a bumper crop of great actors and actresses such as Helen Mirren, Edward Norton, Keira Knightley, Kate Winslet, Naomie Harris, Michael Pena and Jacob Latimore, you worry that this is a film that will either deliver in spades or not at all and unfortunately the start makes you feel the latter is about to happen.However, if you stick with this film until around two thirds through you will start to realise that everything that has happened is a mixture of great storytelling and script writing by Allan Loeb and fantastic acting choices, notably by Naomie Harris, Kate Winslet and Will Smith who I personally think delivers one of his finest acting performances ever. Knowing that this story was incredibly close to Will Smith due to the passing of his father and realising how much risk he took on in doing this role at such an emotionally vulnerable time simply heightens the respect I have for an already huge role model for me. What this also brings to the film is a level of depth in his character that at times I am sure is nothing short of actually real.One of the great things that stood this film apart for me by the end was the sheer level of depth that the characters had. Discovering this depth was a charm rather than being instantly revealed. It was discovered in small drips and drabs which created a completely believable reality that the actors really brought you into with their performances of these unique individuals. So refreshing not to be spoon fed the characters histories in the first 5 minutes in a poor attempt to make them appear deep.By the end of the film I was hooked and bordering on being an emotional wreck. Yes, real men cry too. There were genuine points where I had no idea what characters were going to do and I was riveted to the screen without a thought of doing anything else. Theodore Shapiro creates a unique and hugely haunting soundtrack that complements the tough, gritty moments on screen and simply heightens the emotional connection with the film. Even as a stand-alone album, the soundtrack is great to listen to.So, should you watch this film? If you do, stick with it to the end. There will be those that simply don't enjoy this genre and type of film, simply check rotten tomatoes to prove this and I have no problem with people feeling that way, I won't force you to watch something that doesn't appeal. Although I will say, this film is not your average, its clever, deep and carries some great emotional layers and storytelling that I think if you are prepared to go with it, you will be pleasantly surprised.I look forward to watching this again and it is definitely firmly found its place in my Bluray cabinet. Please don't let the scores on review sites and the adverts put you off.Pleasant watching!