Directed by David Frankel, Hidden beauty is an American drama released on December 21. It recounts the extraordinary therapy of Howard Inlet, a brilliant advertising executive who has lost his six-year-old daughter. The story takes place three years after her death from illness. Will Smith is an excellent choice to play this father, devastated by his refusal to accept death.
Made taciturn by grief, Howard is not drowned in sadness, but in nothingness. Nothing matters: his daughter was everything, and now she's gone. The death of someone dear to one's heart, and very young at that, is a terrible injustice for any human being. Hence the stage of mourning. But Howard didn't grieve. So others will take matters into their own hands.
They are his friends and colleagues, three in number: Whit (Edward Norton), Claire (Kate Winslet) et Simon (Michael Peña). Ceux-ci vont trouver un moyen – que nous ne mentionnerons pas ici, tant il constitue le génie du film – pour obliger Howard à se confronter aux réalités qui l’obsèdent, trois abstractions ô combien présentes à chaque moment de notre vie: l’amour, le temps et la mort.
A new trio will be called in by the group of publicists anxious to help their collaborator and friend. A trio of actors. The presence of the number three thus seems to have its importance in Allan Loeb's script, as does a certain reflection on acting contained in the dramatic film itself.
Au delà de nos considérations sur l’intrigue et sur l’excellente distribution, plusieurs éléments confirment la beauté du long-métrage: de magnifiques images de New York tout d’abord, mais aussi une musique efficace, qui porte le film. Un vrai drame nous est présenté, dans ce qu’il a de plus essentiel: l’émotion suscitée chez le public par les acteurs principaux, ainsi que le sort qui s’abat sur eux et les relie.
Every one of us can find ourselves in this fiction, as it portrays the failings of all human life, which is nothing less than a demand. A demand for passion towards the hidden beauty of the world, despite the difficulties of love, time and death. «Nothing is ever really dead if you look hard enough». This sentence from the film could well be the lesson.
Write to the author: jonas.follonier@leregardlibre.com
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