Movie Review - Collateral Beauty

Collateral Beauty ** (out of 5) (PG-13) For many, this character drama about coping with profound loss will seem to be a deeply moving depiction of True Love, gut-wrenching grief and the irreplaceable value of loved ones. This rating obviously shows I’m not in that camp. I was for much of the film, but the script went south before its ending, which unfortunately occurred a couple of scenes after it should have.

Will Smith stars as a wonderful guy with a wonderful family, and the joyful genius running a wonderful advertising business. Loving and loved by all. Tragedy occurs. Three years later, he’s still an emotional and creative zombie. The business is failing, and no one can reach him. His partners want to sell it for survival, but he won’t agree. Or explain. Or arch an eyebrow to indicate any latent traces of the man he used to be.

The partners come up with a radical plan to break him out of his stupor. His buzz words for the underpinnings of all advertising were the three things that drive all decisions - love, time and death. So they hire actors (two of whom played by Helen Mirren and Kiera Knightley) to embody each, visiting him ala Scrooge’s Christmas ghosts, hoping to rouse their beloved leader - at least enough to go for the deal. They actors are fed enough information about Smith - including some presumably private words - to wing those encounters as figures knowledgeable enough to hail from beyond this mortal coil.

The title comes from one character telling another that at times of loss and heartbreak, don’t overlook the “collateral beauty” surrounding the event. We spend most of the movie learning what that means. It will vary in form for different people and situations, but the point is both valid and invaluable for keeping grief in perspective, and helping in its management and one’s recovery.

Allen Loeb, who has written more comedies than dramas, crafted a relatable set of well-developed characters. Even those manipulating Smith for the sake of the deal are coming from varied and conflicting sets of motivations. The three actors become surprisingly involved in their parts and purposes. Smith’s struggles seem real and deep. We ache with him, but feel for the others, as well.

Alas, one can usually count on Hollywood to screw up a good thing. The Studios love tidy endings that satisfy viewers with closure on all fronts. This one ties up every element more tightly than airmailed fragile gifts destined for placement under a Christmas tree. That overkill, dumbing down all that went before, feels as if it were tacked on by a roomful of Suits after playing the first version to focus groups. Too bad. It couldda been a contendah. (12/16/16)