Monday 23 January 2017

Movie review: Collateral Beauty (2016)



[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

Nota bene: for other movie reviews, click for the dedicated page with movie reviews.


Collateral Beauty (2016)

[IMDB]



Well done. Beautiful.

Simultaneously sad and funny, both in an intelligent way.
It manages to be deep, while using fewer words than common philosophy to reach the same depth.
Great writer, very inspired.

Great cast. They all do their part great.
If Will Smith had been more "selfish" and demanded more screen time and a more complex part, he might have secured himself a better position for the Academy Awards.

Interestingly, all 4 main characters have issues regarding family life:
  • Howard (Will Smith) has lost his daughter some time ago and since then tries to reconnect with the world, including his former wife.
  • Whit (Edward Norton) (1) has cheated on his wife some time ago, therefore his daughter rejects him now, although his desperate attempts to reconnect with her, and (2) he lives with his mentally ill mother.
  • Claire (Kate Winslet) realizes she has dedicated her whole life to her job, has no family whatsoever, has no children etc.
  • Simon (Michael Peña) - the only guy with a real family (wife + kid)!... receives the bad news that his cancer has kicked back in, therefore has little time left to live!
Well, that's a nice drama!


Nota bene: You should be glad if you fail to understand it. (same set of feelings as in Me Before You [review])


Conclusions


Definitely worth watching. Deserves some Academy Awards nominations.