Review of Collateral Beauty (2016) by K Nife C — 20 Dec 2016

And the award for worst movie name of the year goes to "Collateral Beauty". With a title like that, the critical backlash is completely understandable, and in the context of the film, the title seems to refer to the well done cinematography that accompanies the contrived schmaltz that eventuates in this film.

Imagine "A Christmas Carol" for New York yuppies. Will Smith plays Ennui-neezer Scrooge who doesn't have much Christmas spirit (read: Capitalist drive) because his 6 year old daughter died.

So, his corporate "friends" hire three actors to therapeutically antagonize him into losing his shit in public by making them appear as if they are phantasms of the abstract concepts Love, Death, and Time.

He does, and they elbow him out of his company, for his own good of course. Then there's a bullshit twist ending that the actors actually are said abstract concepts personified, and Will Smith unwittingly hooks up (again) with his ex-wife because he has been in a traumatic fugue state the whole time.

You might notice that this film shares a lot in common with the more favorable "Manchester by the Sea". Both films deal with coping over the death of loved ones, but the magic of "Manchester"s realism is so much more compelling than "Collateral"s magical realism.

Sorry that I spoiled this parlor trick of an ending, but it's a cheap, un-clever ruse to get you to watch something you wouldn't if you didn't know. Beyond the emotional manipulation, which is at times effective, there is psychological manipulation that is more condescending than enlightening.

Ultimately, Smith concedes from his corporate responsibilities while coincidentally conceding from his grief. From all of the other characters' perspectives (and the audience), that is a good thing.

Yet, his daughter is still dead, and he has lost his entire life's work and is probably financially ruined. So even in the final "uplifting" moments where everything has worked out right, one can't help but feel like this broken, traumatized man has been screwed not only by his friends, but the universe as well.

Also, evidently, his wife is okay with the fact that he is so mentally unstable that he completely forgets who she was for 90 percent of the movie.