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) and Simon (Michael Peña). They find a way - which we won't mention here, since it's the genius of the film - to force Howard to confront the realities that obsess him, three abstractions so present in every moment of our lives: love, time and death.
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.
Aside from the plot and the excellent cast, there are a number of elements that confirm the beauty of this feature-length film: first and foremost, the magnificent images of New York, but also the effective music, which carries the film along. We are presented with a true drama at its most essential: the emotion aroused in the audience by the lead actors, and the fate that befalls them and binds them together.
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
Image: Will Smith and Helen Mirren in Hidden beauty (© SensCritique)
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