Collateral Beauty (12A)
Will Smith plays a once ebullient ad man brought low by the death of his young daughter; Ed Norton, Kate Winslet and Michael Peña his colleagues who go to desperate measures to stop him sinking their company, with the help of Helen Mirren’s troupe of eccentric actors.
With its Christmas setting and fantastical overtones this might, erroneously, bring to mind It’s A Wonderful Life. It’s more akin to those American dramas that seek profundity yet risk falling into schmaltz.
That said, a strong cast and a grounding theme – the impossibility of a parent ever overcoming the loss of a child – steady the ship and ensure that it becomes increasingly moving.
The Eagle Huntress (U)
An engaging, beautifully photographed documentary charts the attempt by a 13-year-old girl to become the first Kazakh female to become an eagle hunter – catching and training the birds to hunt during the harsh mountain winters. She’s a determined sweetheart, taking on the chauvinistic belief that nomad women should be at home milking the cows.
The Son Of Joseph (12A)
Dull French film that attempts to riff on the Nativity but sinks beneath the weight of its pretension.
Why Him? (15)
Formulaic bad-taste comedy with Bryan Cranston as a protective father and James Franco as his daughter’s disturbing new boyfriend.
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