Review of Collateral Beauty (2016) by Lydia H — 06 May 2017

As someone who experienced a difficult road to recovery after a traumatic loss in the family, I found this story potent and wonderful. The main character is lost in his grief, floating through life and unable to heal. The people who care about him want to help, but aren't able to penetrate the fog of pain that surrounds him. While there are moments where one might question their motives, his friends ultimately prove that while they do care about their business a great deal, it is Howard's well being that concerns them the most.

Lately in TV and cinema, it seems as though writers have been afraid to write characters who aren't fundamentally self-serving and unpleasant, but not so with Collateral Beauty. The characters are flawed and imperfect, but genuinely good people who care about each other. I found it refreshing to watch a story about people I might actually want to be friends with myself, as well as to see a story where grief was so accurately represented and confronted.

We rented this movie to watch it this time, but I intend to purchase it for my collection in the near future.