As an avid movie-goer and as someone who possesses a general love of films and the stories they depict, I recently decided to see the star-studded film Collateral Beauty. Starring Will Smith and an abundance of Oscar-winning actors and actresses. This film portrays the many ways that grief effects each individual person. After losing his daughter, two years later during the holiday season Howard writes letters to Love, Death, and Time. After receiving unexpected responses and unlikely encounters he begins to see just how these things interact with each other and how even the most tragic loss can expose the beauty within.

Everyone responds to loss and grief in different ways. For Will Smith's character Howard, his response was building a wall and almost completely shutting down from life. As a result, his advertising business begins to fail. His friends and coworkers, played by Edward Norton, Kate Winslet, and Michael Peña, see that his grief is beginning to take a turn for the worst so they create a fantasy with the help of three local actors to portray Death, Time and Love, portrayed by Helen Mirren, Kiera Knightley, and Jacob Latimore, in order to help Howard move on positively. These three concepts of Love, Death and Time become the major themes throughout the film. Each of the three friends assist one of the actors in their depiction of the three themes, and this creates multiple storylines. Each actor helps the friends face their individual problems and concerns that tie into the three points to create and emotional connection to each other and the audience viewing the film.

While this film ties connections to grief and the holiday season in very emotional ways, it is relatable to anyone who has experienced loss in anyway shape or form. I would highly recommend this film, while I did have the deal with the emotional marshmallow that is myself, it was definitely worth the tears.