Film Review: 'Collateral Beauty' Meaning & Seeing Beauty In Dark Times

The film Collateral Beauty of January 2017's cinema releases features Will Smith, Keira Knightly, Helen Mirren and Drew Barrymore. The storyline is centred around life's 3 most abstract concepts LOVE, DEATH and TIME, whereby the lives of various characters are interconnected and affected by the 3 in some way.

If you want an easy, mid-week watch with an emotional core, this is an easy win. Add extra cheese and a strong Will Smith crying scene, and you'll come out feeling touched, thoughtful, open and slightly cringed. A much weaker version of 'Seven Pounds,' mixed with 'The Pursuit of Happiness,' plus added comedy. Here's why its meaning > cinematic rigour got it a 6/10...

The film personifies the 3 concepts, because it really is the truth that humans have visual minds – it's much easier to process more 'mentally grope-able' things. To back this up, read John C Parkin's F*ck It, Do What You Love for more info on an effective way to organise your busy life. He says that by personifying your 'stuff to do,' you can more easily engage with them in a fictitious waiting room –  imagine each 'character' responding in ways that match what they represent and how they would speak of their demands (i.e. The 'house bills' man - grumpy, with many heads and always lingering about ready to p*ss you off).

Anyway...

First concept:
TIME
Probably one of the hardest to get your head around. Time is often irritated because people always bitch about how little of him they have, as opposed to seeing how special each moment is. He's right. But he's up for interpretation.  Linear or non-linear? The take-away – 'Tomorrow isn't promised.'

Meet Time:

A fiery, fearless, outgoing youth with attitude, attempting to make avid-cycler Will, recognise his value. Time's best quote 'Time is An Illusion' (Einstein).

(Source: IndieWire)

LOVE
Emotional, feminine, charming, beautiful, persuasive and a fighter – Kiera Knightly. The most expected, cliché'd of the three, but engage with love and you unlock a greater potential in life (the story says.) Oh and she pops up unexpectedly, often in very striking, bright colours. 'Catches your eye,' you could say...fitting because another main character falls for her and her red hat in the beginning.

Meet Love:

She says love is everywhere, don't shut her out. OPEN your eyes.

(Source: Melty)

DEATH
Probably my favourite embodiment (not concept). Helen Mirren is a bold, wise, vivacious, active-listening, witty, kind approachable woman. So basically, let death into your life, understand her, devote time to her and you'll feel more at ease. Don't put yourself through pain by seeing her as dark, mean and ruthless. Willy didn't fancy believing that so much at the start. He actually frequently toyed with death (as a concept) by cycling the opposite way in traffic! Maybe his lack of his self-worth was the reason why she met him first... Symbolic for the fact that: by acknowledging and accepting death, you can 'start' your life? (and blahh same with nature's cycle, whereby dead carcasses feed grass, which feeds the living etc.).

Meet Death:

(Source: Bustle)

Here are ways you can view the 3's relationship:

 Is there a start or an end? Is there even a process? Hmmmm...

Conclusion: 

Accept - by engaging - with these 3 concepts (via key occurrences) in your life; only then will you progress and have a fuller one. And remember we're all connected!

This is my view of 'Collateral Beauty':

The interconnected nature of people starts with those who keep their minds, eyes and hearts open (the one's with open forehead circles) – they see the beauty in everything and everyone. Because of such realisation, they'll pick-up the signs and messages from the bigger picture (the universe), benefitting and sharing them with others – they'll live a life that seems to 'flow,' whereby things go and feel 'right.' It's due to the support and connectedness to all things – a universal consciousness.