COLLATERAL BEAUTY

By Joyce b Don Fowler
Posted 12/30/16

COLLATERAL BEAUTY

* *

(Dull, downer

of a Christmas movie)

Will Smith plays Howard, a successful New York City advertising executive who goes into deep depression when he loses a …

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COLLATERAL BEAUTY

Posted

COLLATERAL BEAUTY

* *

(Dull, downer

of a Christmas movie)

Will Smith plays Howard, a successful New York City advertising executive who goes into deep depression when he loses a child.

His partners (Edward Norton, Michael Pena and Kate Winslet) go all out to bring him back to his senses (because they care for him or because he’s bringing their successful agency into bankruptcy?).

Howard is so distraught that he spends all day at the office lining up dominoes for a big fall (Is this supposed to be symbolic of his future?)

 I’m guessing that the writers were trying to be profound, but the whole thing ends up being a bit silly and perfunctory as Howard writes letters to Love, Time and Death, asking why they have failed him.

His partners hire three actors to play the roles of Love (Keira Knightley), Time (Jacob Latimore) and Death (Helen Mirren), confronting Howard at odd times and places. Howard ends up going to a support group but remains physically and emotionally out of the circle.

The theme of this downer of a Christmas movie is that we are all connected, but the story remains unconnected until there is a strange twist at the end, followed by a postscript explaining where the characters are now.

Nice try. No Christmas cigar.

Rated PG-13 with some profanity and a plot that will surely confuse the young ones.

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