Taglines: We are all connected.
Successful advertising executive Howard Inlet becomes clinically depressed after his young daughter’s tragic death. He spends his time alone, rarely sleeping or eating, and at the office building domino chains and structures. His estranged friends and business partners, Whit Yardsham, Claire Wilson, and Simon Scott fear for Howard’s mental health as well as their company’s future, as Howard’s behavior has cost them numerous high-profile clients and left them on the verge of bankruptcy. As the majority shareholder, Howard has also undermined their efforts to sell the company.
The trio hires a private investigator, Sally Price, to acquire evidence that Howard is unfit to run the company, allowing them to take control. Sally intercepts three letters written by Howard which he posted to the abstract concepts of Love, Time, and Death, and presents them to Whit, Claire, and Simon. They hire a trio of struggling actors – Brigitte, Raffi, and Amy – to masquerade as Death, Time, and Love to confront Howard about his letters. Their plan is for Sally to record these encounters and then digitally erase Amy, Raffi, and Brigitte to make Howard appear mentally unbalanced, enabling them to sell the company.
In preparation for their roles, Brigitte, Raffi, and Amy spend time with Simon, Claire, and Whit, who are going through personal problems of their own: Simon is battling cancer in secret; Whit is struggling to connect with his pre-teen daughter Allison after cheating on her mother; and Claire is looking for sperm donors to conceive a child after neglecting her private life for years.
After his encounters with Brigitte, Raffi, and Amy, Howard attends a grief support group and befriends Madeleine, who has lost her daughter, Olivia, to cancer, which led to the end of her marriage. As he meets with Madeleine, she shows him a note from her husband, “If only we could be strangers again…” To which her reply is, “And now we are.” Howard tells her about his recent “conversations” with Death, Time, and Love. She tells him that on the day Olivia died, an old woman at the hospital had told her to notice the “Collateral Beauty”, which she has learned to recognize as acts of selfless kindness that follow tragedies.
As the group is discussing the actors’ performances, Amy storms out of the room because she feels guilty about manipulating Howard. Whit goes to convince her to return and declares romantic interest in her. She rejects him, but agrees to commit to their plan if Whit will make amends with his daughter, Allison. Simon similarly confides with Brigitte about his condition and his fear of death. She encourages him to share the burden with his family.
Amy, Raffi, and Brigitte confront Howard again, and he lashes out at them, particularly Amy, externalizing the pain he held inside since his daughter’s death. Amy tells Howard he owes it to his daughter’s existence to love and can’t live without it. The next day, Howard attends a meeting with his company’s board of directors in which footage of him yelling, with the actors digitally removed, is shown. Howard realizes his mental state and behavior are ruining the company. He voices his gratitude for all that his friends have done for him, and promises to be there in their times of need. He then signs documents to ensure the agency’s survival.
Collateral Beauty is a 2016 American drama film directed by David Frankel and written by Allan Loeb. The film stars an ensemble cast of Will Smith, Edward Norton, Keira Knightley, Michael Peña, Naomie Harris, Jacob Latimore, Kate Winslet, and Helen Mirren. The film premiered at the Dubai International Film Festival on December 13, 2016, and was released in the United States on December 16, 2016. It was panned by critics,[4][5] although it grossed $88 million worldwide against its net $36 million budget.
Collateral Beauty
Directed by: David Frankel
Starring: Will Smith, Edward Norton, Keira Knightley, Michael Pena, Naomie Harris, Jacob Latimore, Kate Winslet, Helen Mirren, Nicole Bonifacio, Liza Colón-Zayas, Rebecca Ruber
Screenplay by: Allan Loeb
Production Design by: Beth Mickle
Cinematography by: Maryse Alberti
Costume Design by: Leah Katznelson
Set Decoration by: Kara Zeigon
Art Direction by: Scott Dougan
Music by: Theodore Shapiro
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for thematic elements and brief strong language.
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: December 16, 2016
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