Collateral Beauty

David Frankel's totally shameless, crudely manipulative tearjerker begins with Howard Inlet (Will Smith)—hotshot head of a successful New York ad agency—devastated by the death of his beloved 6-year-old daughter, so he retreats into grief-ridden isolation. His prolonged depression—which leads to his penning accusatory letters to Death, Time, and Love—threatens the business, so his partners (Edward Norton, Kate Winslet, and Michael Peña) hire actors from a struggling theatrical troupe (Helen Mirren, Jacob Latimore, and Keira Knightley) to accost Howard in the guise of those abstractions and goad him into actions that will provide proof of his mental instability—allowing them to sell the company. This cruel plan unwittingly encourages Howard to join a therapy group of grieving parents led by a sympathetic counselor (Naomie Harris). The maudlin quotient escalates exponentially as the three perpetrators transcend into confessional mode about their own regrets and fret over the damage they are doing to their friend and partner, until a final reel offers an avalanche of cathartic emotional climaxes before adding twists that take the plot into magical territory. Apart from Mirren, who brings an elfin mischief to her role, the cast is sabotaged by the awful material. Not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include “A Modern Fable: Discovering” behind-the-scenes featurette (15 min.). Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. Bottom line: a small extras package for a cinematic misfire.] (F. Swietek)