First trailer for ensemble drama, 'Collateral Beauty'

Image from Awards Circuit

By Darian Scalamoni

            One of my most anticipated movies for a few years now has been the upcoming drama Collateral Beauty, for many reasons. When it was first announced the film was supposed to be directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon who directed my favorite film of last year, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. Along with that Hugh Jackman, Jason Segel and Rooney Mara were set to star but due to scheduling conflicts and other shakeups, the film essentially started over. Most of the time, that is a bad sign for any film but the studio held on and still wound up getting a tremendous ensemble cast and a new director. Today, we’ve received our first trailer for the movie.

            The film stars Will Smith as Howard Inlet, a New York advertising executive that experiences a deep personal tragedy and retreats from his life entirely. Inlet then decides to write letters to things like Time, Love and Death instead of people. His colleagues and friends believe that they must get him out of this trance before one day, Inlet begins to see personifications of the things he’s writing to. With a premise like this, the film has an uneasy balancing act between reality and the fantastical elements.

            Collateral Beauty, now directed by David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada, Marley & Me) will be released on December 16^th. The film stars Will Smith, Edward Norton, Kate Winslet, Helen Mirren, Michael Pena, Keira Knightley, Naomie Harris and Jacob Lattimore. With a cast like that, this movie is stacked with immense talent but did the trailer connect with you guys? Though I was a fan, I believe that a second trailer will give us a better understanding of this interesting and intriguing upcoming film. Please comment and let us know what you think.