Collateral Beauty

Thank you. Thank you.

But no, give yourselves a hand because it was your hard work

that gave Yardsham Inlet the best year in the history of this agency.

Before we let all that success go to our heads,

we just thought we should get together and reconnect with the fundamentals

of what actually got us here.

For that, I'm gonna turn it over

to our resident poet philosopher of product.

The rebel command of brand.

He's the guru who terrifies Madison Avenue.

My partner, my better half,

Howard Inlet.

Love you.

Yes!

Oh. What is your "why"

Why did you even get out of the bed this morning

Why did you eat what you ate

Why did you wear what you wore

Why did you come here

Other than the fact that I would fire you and hire someone else

if you didn't show up for work, but...

Not that. The big "why."

We're certainly not here to just sell shit.

We are here

to connect.

Life is about people.

Advertising is about illuminating

how our products and services

will improve people's lives.

Now,

how do we do that

Love.

Time.

Death.

Now these three abstractions connect every single human being on Earth.

Everything that we covet,

everything that we fear not having,

everything that we ultimately end up buying

is because at the end of the day

we long for love,

we wish we had more time,

and we fear death.

Love.

Time.

Death.

Let's begin there.

How long did this one take

Five days.

That's pretty impressive.

- Maybe he came back too soon. - Are you kidding me

It's been six months of this zombie routine.

We can't indulge this anymore.

Especially because

we're getting fired by Danworth Financial.

What You're kidding me.

- No, Whit, come on! - I'm sorry, what

But I just talked to them yesterday.

I know. Everybody's been doing their best to cover,

but that entire account is built on Howard's relationship.

Half our billings are built on Howard's relationships.

This is a disaster. This is a disaster.

No. Not yet.

We have an offer from Omnicom for $17 a share...

- Oh, come on! - ...but they want an answer

- by New Year's. - Shh.

Let's be honest, we're not worth $14 a share

if my partner takes a sabbatical

as the local domino champion of Crazy Town.

That's a little harsh, Whit.

I'm sorry, but it's true.

Simon, I am empowering you. Go make the deal with Omnicom.

I wish I could, but Howard controls the voting shares.

I'll deal with the Howard part, okay

Just push the papers, Simon.

I still don't understand why Howard got 60% of the voting shares

and you only got 40.

Because I needed cash to settle my divorce

and Howard did me a huge favor and let me sell him some.

So, if you never had an affair with some junior creative,

we wouldn't be in this situation

Inaccurate and unfair

to put it squarely on my shoulders.

Well, I'm just pointing out the facts.

Oh, my God. Don't you just love that smell

Wait. Stop.

Close your eyes.

Breathe it in.

Doesn't that remind you of your childhood

Claire, come here.

Come on, I got to tell you something.

What

I have been doing something about our situation

that you need to know about.

What did you do

I hired someone.

You hired someone

Yes. Look, when Eloise caught me cheating,

she used a private investigator named Sally Price.

She's this woman who looks like a Mormon grandmother,

and it makes her very good at the whole stealth thing.

You hired the woman who caused your divorce

No. I caused my divorce.

Sally Price just documented it.

Wow. That was actually enlightened.

I have hidden depth. We've discussed this.

So,

why did you hire the Mormon grandmother

Because we need to document what's going on with Howard.

We need to show that he's not mentally fit to vote his shares.

No. We're not really in that place where we're...

We're actually gonna be the people who would do that to a friend

It's not that he won't sell,

it's that he won't even have a conversation about selling.

I try to talk to him, I try to reach him,

and it's like I'm not even in the same physical space with him.

He's not there.

His kid died.

That was two years ago, Claire.

What are we gonna...

This is our lives at stake.

We're not kids anymore. You look me in the face

and tell me that you're willing to have everything you've worked for

for the last 10 years just evaporate.

Is this PI good

She caught me cheating.

Oscar could have caught you cheating.

Who the hell's Oscar

My son.

Oh. That Oscar

This private investigator isn't gonna find anything

that'll pass for moral turpitude.

Not on Howard,

but if she can raise concern regarding legal capacity,

then we'll be in business.

I do really think that we are out of other options.

You know, he terrorized the grief counselor for six months.

He totally blew off the Ayahuasca shaman we flew in all the way from Peru.

And our... Our intervention was a disaster.

I just...

Look, uh, this doesn't feel right.

I know.

But when something starts with a six-year-old dying,

nothing is gonna feel right.

He writes letters.

Letters What kind of letters

This might be the strangest thing I have ever come across.

- You got the letters - Oh, yeah.

Can we ask you how

Cost me $800

to get this cut.

And just so you know,

it's a federal offense to steal mail directly from a mailbox.

- You could... - Yeah.

- So, three letters. - Who are they to

- Oh, not who. - What do you mean

Howard doesn't write letters to people.

He writes to things.

- What kind of things - Time.

Love.

Death.

The three abstractions.

"Time,

"they say you heal all wounds,

"but they don't talk about how you destroy

"all that's good in the world.

"How you turn beauty into ash.

"Well, you're nothing more than petrified wood to me.

"You're a dead tissue that won't decompose.

"You're nothing."

That doesn't prove anything. We can't use that, right

No. I mean, kids write letters to Santa Claus,

it doesn't mean they're crazy.

No. This is therapeutic.

It's so sad.

Yeah. Anything else

Usually after work, he goes to a small dog park in Brooklyn,

even though he doesn't own a dog.

Just sits there for hours.

Does he write letters to the dogs

Are you serious

Well, that would be like the home run, right

I mean, that's what we need.

- Does he - Not that I saw.

- Okay. What else - That's it, really.

Goes home to his apartment. Rarely leaves before morning.

No Wi-Fi, cable, phone. Nothing.

"You're a dead tissue that won't decompose."

Howard

Hey, it's Claire.

I swung by that place down the street and got you some dinner.

It's that shrimp thing you like.

Okay, I'm gonna leave it right here, in case you haven't eaten.

Hey, don't keep leaving the food there.

He doesn't eat it.

Oh, I'm... I'm sorry.

And he's late on his rent again.

He doesn't answer his door, and I don't have a working number for him.

Yeah, he doesn't have a phone anymore.

Um, how much does he owe I'll write you a check.

If that's what you want to do.