Will Smith Meets Death, Love, and Time In the ‘Collateral Beauty’ Trailer

You know when you’re a kid and you write letters to Santa Claus? Pretend you’re actually a middle aged man suffering from depression, you write a letter to the universe and, BOOM, Helen Mirren shows up in response! But she’s not Santa Claus, she’s Death.

The first teaser trailer for Collateral Beauty finds Will Smith as a New York advertising executive who begins writing therapeutic letters to no one (technically to “the universe”) after experiencing a tragic loss. His friends, played by Edward Norton, Kate Winslet, Michael Pena, and Ann Dowd – what a talented group of friends I must say! – are all concerned about his depression until suddenly he gets an It’s a Wonderful Life twist.

Mirren shows up on a park bench announcing herself as the personification of Death, Keira Knightley arrives and literally says, “I am Love,” and Jacob Latimore is Time, something Smith's character is wasting a lot of. They try to help him turn around his life and you know, see how all things in life are connected (there’s a toppling domino maze throughout the trailer if you missed the metaphor). Here’s the full synopsis:

When a successful New York advertising executive (Will Smith) experiences a deep personal tragedy and retreats from life entirely, his colleagues devise a drastic plan to force him to confront his grief in a surprising and profoundly human way.

Directed by David Franklel (The Devil Wears Prada), Collateral Beauty, which also co-stars Naomi Harris, has a totally insane cast that is enough of a selling point. (Though I’m mainly onboard for Dame Death Mirren.) The film opens on December 16, and besides going head-to-head with Rogue One, its an optimal release date for warm fuzzy ensemble dramas about love and life and death. It’s probably like Love Actually, just less romance, more tears and this time Knightley is actually Love.