Synopsis
Collateral Beauty is an expressive and thoughtful motion picture that vividly analyses deep personal loss and explores the different ways individuals learn to appreciate and cope with grief. It captures the life of Howard Inlet, a high-profile advertisement executive in New York City, as he navigates through unimaginable pain. Unlike most people, who find inspiration in the bright city lights, Howard is deeply tormented. After losing his daughter at a young age, he descends into a deep, dark void, losing everything that he once cherished.
At the beginning of the film, his most tormenting scenes are when Howard is deeply enveloped in his pain. He opts to empty himself of his excessive grief and chooses to repeat mundane, mechanistic, boring tasks. For example, he enjoys setting Dominoes for extended period of time only to then dethrone his own effort in the silencing exercises of tossing than lying down the Dominoes. Simmons, Cohen, and the rest of Howard’s closest companions in life, as well as his in business, begin to lose their peace of mind as they witness Howard succumbing to his own self-destruction.To assist Howard with reconnecting with life and confronting his suffering. Restoring Howard’s Will to Live was assigned to his three colleagues. After learning Howard has been writing emotionally charged letters to abstract ideas such as love, death, and time, they planned an elaborate scheme. It consists of hiring three performers or actors who will respond to letters in person and physically embody Howard’s imaginings of his letters. Howard’s co-workers believe that Howard will be able to engage with his environment and address his grief with abstract concepts presented as living amalgams.
These three actors are Amy, who plays Love, Brigitte, who plays Death, and Raffi, who plays Time. They personify the abstract concepts Howard writes letters to. They start having conversations with Howard in city life. At the start, Howard is cognizant of the fact that his dreams and reality are colliding, and skips the rational explanation of the clues. As their dialogues progress, Howard feels an internal change as he becomes attuned to their messages.
The issues that arise while challenging Howard’s way of life each have a unique way of tackling him. Time, for its part, reminds him that life is moving forward, providing options and opportunities. Love gently accuses him of having lost a person truly meaningful, but that there connection and value in that love still remain. Death challenges him to change the way he sees closes – not simply as a loss, but as deceases in a wider life continuum.
At this point, the viewer is introduced to Howard’s character. We gradually get an insight into the life he led in the past and the fatherly moments he deeply cherished with the daughter he lost. Recall these situations evokes feelings of nostalgia, both sad and happy, as they serve to penetrate the emotional barrier he has formularized.
The same time, the narrative is intertwined with Howard’s workmates who each carry their own burden. While Whit is striving to rebuild a lost bond with his daughter, Claire is in a quandary over whether she desires to have a child, as the time frame seems to have gone beyond the limits of possibility. On the other hand, Simon continues to confront his own self-destructive behavior, which stems from an illness he keeps hidden from those closest to him. What this film conveys through these various accounts is the idea that the anguish and yearning we all experience interact in diverse ways, and that the way to recovery is often through interactions that are raw and genuine.
Howard’s continued reluctance to open up any more than he has is to some perhaps the most poignant arc of the story. He attends a support group for grieving parents where he meets Madeleine, a warm and soft-spoken woman who has her own story of loss. Their conversations, filled with unexpressed emotions, are soft and calm, giving both participants an opportunity to pause and clearly think, and give relief to the heavy pain they are holding.
During the ending of the film, new information comes to light which changes the interpretation of the information previously considered. The new names and purposes of certain character are the most telling, and remind the audience how the concepts of love, time, and even death are beautifully intertwined and interpreted through a person’s experience.
Will Smith, for his part, captures the essence of Howard Inlet, and appreciates the pain associated with stillness and silence. His skillfully rendered, inexpressive, and heavy narration of a sad character touches the heart of the audience, inviting them into Howard’s universe with deep subtlety and great encouragement.
Kate Winslet, for her part, portrays Claire Wilson as a loyal and ambitious woman who weaves achingly beautiful layers of her own aspiration to a subplot. In the film, Claire is more than just a character. She is the face of beautiful ideas intertwined with uninhabited devotion of a godmother.
Michael Peña’s role as Simon Scott exposes us to yet again a deeper layer of humanity as he grapples with personal news in a simply puzzling turmoil.
Brigitte the actress figuratively tasked with the role of Death is played by the legendary Helen Mirren who performs the role with wisdom and eloquence that makes her rethink some of the conclusions which Howard seems to make a little too hastily.
Amy, the personification of Love is played by Keira Knightley who permeates the role with genuine sympathy and tenderness.
Jacob Latimore gives life to the role of Raffi and as the young personification of Time he delivers soft yet stern truths of the world.
Madeleine, a support group leader sculpted by Naomie Harris is one of the most inspiring members of the film. She performs her role as a head with tranquil poise and delivers the most powerful message which Howard seems to overlook.
The beautiful and emotionally charged film is directed by David Frankel who has seamlessly managed to entwine character driven storylines in his works for a long time. The themes of loss, connection and the sensitive nature of human relationships are deeply woven in the screenplay written by Allan Loeb.
Key Themes and Takeaways.
Collateral Beauty does not fit the typical drama mold. The film its self is a creative portrayal deeply rooted in harsh realities surrounding loss, memories, and life after the absence of a beloved.
The theory of the film is that regardless of the pain one experiences, one can still find beauty, clarity, and a sense of connection. The very first glimpse of the title addresses the notion of goodness that somehow happens even during the dark times of one’s life. The title depicts those little, yet important aspects which go a long way to illustrate the fact that one is still alive and capable of development.
The depiction of Love, Time, and Death allows the film to explore and concretize deeply abstract concepts. It provides viewers an opportunity to examine their own engagement with such universal concepts and to think about the way joy and sorrow can, and often do, coexist.
Reception and ratings
On release, Collateral Beauty had critics divided. A section of the critics lauded the movie’s emotional authenticity and the unique premise, and structural choices, while the rest had a more fundamental disconnect with the structure of the narrative. The movie’s fundamental premise, however, was something that the audience resonated with deeply, as was the case with the remarkable performances delivered by Will Smith and Naomie Harris.
The film is still appreciated by people looking for emotionally stimulating movies focusing on personal growth, reflection, and connection with others. The film holds a modest rating on IMDb and, although many users agree the narrative has a very unconventional take, the emotional resonance it invokes is appreciated.
Conclusion
Collateral Beauty is an artistic and powerful film that helps the audience explore the themes of human connection, how to cope with loss, and the beauty in imperfection. The film is filled with a powerful cast and the writing is strong, allowing the film to touch the hearts of several generations as a reminder of the unspoken connections that exist.
The film also does not fully provide answers, but it does concentrate on the importance of emotions and personal reflection, and how sometimes, little things that help us can manifest out of nowhere. For someone in search of a film with an emotional story that incorporates hope with heart ache, and a touch of fantasy, Collateral Beauty is a valuable and subtle film.
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