Review of Collateral Beauty (2016) by Pipec — 22 Jan 2017

I Still Do Not Apprehend What Is "Collateral Beauty".

Love, time and Death are the three abstractions connecting each human being with existence nature, they regulate our steps in the earthly world and rule a concatenation of situations personally related to a superhuman religious power. Based on these three conceptualizations, Christmas wager of Warner Bros. seeks to provide a life-giving message through the long-drawn-out dose of lachrymose content that after all it just got is to try the audience's patience and supply a wrong composition and emphatically distant to what it is proposed.

Howard (Will Smith) opens with a poignant speech about the life pillars, in which manifests optimism and vitality of being in command of an increasing advertising agency. Two years later, a downcast man by depression, fatherly devastation, sadness and melancholy appears on screen, usually with an affliction frown and about to immerse himself into a fit of tears. According to his "colleagues," the persistent emotional fluctuation of their chief—he spends the most time stacking up multicolored domino pieces in the form of small forts or constructions for symbolizing each individual fate: everyone will crumble; —is going to make to collapse their advertising company abruptly. To prevent this happening, and with the subterfuge of seeking his social, personal and labor rehabilitation; they determine to hire a group of actors to embody three characters whose their boss sends rejection letters: Love, Time and Death. They are portrayed by Jacob Latimore (Raffi), Keira Knightley (Amy) and an unexpected Helen Mirren (Brigitte) within a deeply unlike role to her triumphant career. All this in order to save the company, redeeming their "colleague" and suddenly saving their own lives, each one related to the existing pillars interpreted by the actors.

I have to confess that in mid-2015, when I gradually found out about the cast and crew was quite elated and anxious to visualize the suggestive design starring these experienced actors, however, when I slid down on the screen and read the storyline, my expectation was accentuated uncompromisingly. I felt that it was what every film lover demands with devotion in these times of creative vicissitudes; an original story, with unique qualities and fine resolutions.

Today, one year and a half later, I have the opportunity to see the film in its entirety, triggering a forceful change of opinion both subjective and objective. First, I noticed an air of magic realism that works to some extent; trying to play with viewers' mind is certainly detrimental since if it does not run with a rigorous and acute diplomacy can cause a powerful cataclysm, and precisely that was what happened to this feature film. In addition to that fanciful aura into a realistic conception of the world—which is far from generating a consistent empathy with the public, —Allan Loeb's script provides a figurative and utopian searching, shuffling the story desire within the three supporting characters: Whit, Claire, and Simon (Edward Norton, Kate Winslet and Michael Peña). While it conglomerates subplots in the story, Howard, the true leading role, moves to the last place, dragging the course of the occurrences out and trying to be a competent work influenced by philosophical issues. Besides this, the staging does not suggest high conception of imagination or invention, adhering to New York in full holiday season, repetitive close-ups of misty-eyed Will Smith, editing of uneven pace and a soundtrack as generic as deficient for jam-packed dramatic moments, which there are every minute.

Despite the constant detriments, the film acquires and retains a stimulating ether around the leitmotiv: trying to bring back a loved one. Playing Love, Time and Death of crystal-clear, but at the same time multiple ways is one of their few skills, even getting to arouse fervor with the cardinal aim of the characters. In addition, the task of giving sense to existence reminds us of the classics which managed more than honoring and paying tribute to life itself: "Life Is Beautiful" or "The Pursuit of Happyness" (starring Smith in 2006).

"Collateral Beauty", directed by David Frankel, feels as the definitive collapse of a joint of erroneous decisions about giving shape to a story, however, above film or narrative standards, the movie is a good choice for those who wish to reaffirm the importance of life, time, death and love.Packed with talented stars, a fortifying central plot and a suggestive final twist, Frankel's celluloid does not deserve such reprimand by movie critics. Is it a confusing and irregular motion picture? Yes, it is, but if we are going to talk together about real dud movies, several heads already lean out.