Starring Will Smith, Kate Winslet, and Keira Knightley, "Collateral Beauty " is an emotionally honest film about a man who struggles to cope after losing his young child. Will Smith does an excellent job playing Howard – the role of a grieving father who becomes distant in his work and social life when faced with an unexpected loss. Howard was a successful New York advertising executive who loved his job and loved his life — but his world was turned upside down after losing his child. He now writes letters as a therapeutic outlet of his pain, but instead of writing them to people, he addresses them to three abstractions that he no longer trusts: love, time and death. To his surprise, he receives answers to each letter that force him to acknowledge the beauty that can arise from pain and suffering.
Without revealing too much of the movie’s plot, I will say that "Collateral Beauty " deserves more than a five-star rating. It deserves the attention of audiences who are willing to listen and open their hearts to such a common tragedy that is faced far too often in the real world. This heart-breaking film floods your mind and heart with emotions that don’t typically arise until you find yourself grieving for someone else’s loss.
Unfortunately, many people are prone to depression around the holidays. It’s a time full of festivities that are difficult to engage in if your mind is wandering elsewhere. Speaking from personal experience, it’s hard to enjoy the holidays after experiencing a tragic loss. At first, it seems nearly impossible to find happiness and joy in simple traditions and social settings, because while the pain becomes easier to manage over time, it never fades completely. Christmas is a time to acknowledge everyone and everything that you have, and what you should constantly be thankful for. When someone is taken from you, however, it’s hard to accept that life will ever return to normal.
"Collateral Beauty" is a beautiful film of reassurance that convinces its audience that it is possible to move on with your own life after losing a child or anyone else close to your heart. One of the characters from the film says that nothing is dead if you look at it right. The people we lose never leave us if we allow them to reside in our hearts and live in our memories. This movie is a simple reminder that despite the pain and the evil you may be faced with, there’s too much good in this world to be a victim of life. You owe it to yourself and the people you have lost to leave a mark on everything that your everyday life consists of. There’s no way to leave a mark on the world if you’re cowering in the shadows that death inconveniently drapes. Don’t let life happen to you — let yourself go out and happen to life.
