Genre: Drama/Fantasy
Director: Laure De Clermont-Tonnerre
Writer: Jimmy Ellis
Cast: John Malkovich, Oscar Isaac, Shia LaBeouf, Jacob Tremblay, Jeffrey Wright, Charlie Hunnam, Chosen Jacobs, Lucy Boynton, Erin Moriarty, Kieran Culkin, Tracee Ellis Ross
Plot: Arthur Fordham (John Malkovich) enters a courthouse waiting room, unknowing of how he arrived. He takes a seat and another man (Oscar Isaac) promptly takes a seat next to him. Arthur looks at him somewhat disgusted and quickly changes seats. The man comments on Arthur’s outdated and prejudiced views. Arthur suddenly remembers how he got here.
Flashback to the night before: Arthur sits in his nice comfortable recliner chair. He watches the television as he sips on his whiskey. He suddenly feels a sharp pain in his chest. He clutches at his chest but falls to the ground. Dead. Flashback over.
The man leans over and tells him exactly what happened, which is surprising to Arthur. The man tells him who he is, he reveals himself as Arthur’s guardian angel, and he also adds that it is Arthur’s time to be judged by God. The Guardian Angel says that he will represent Arthur’s case to go to heaven. God (Jeffrey Wright) himself sits in the judge’s chair, and the hearing begins.
God starts by telling Arthur that he may not be evil, he is not a good person either, and he knows what was done. Arthur assures him that he goes to church and prays to God as much as he can, but God tells him that it’s so much more than that. The Guardian Angel argues that Arthur has not had the perfect life. God says that he knows and that he will take that into consideration. After a while longer conversing God decides to bring in three people that Arthur met during his life: The Person’s whose life he ruined, the person’s whose life he saved, and the person who loved him the most.
The first witness is a teenage boy whom Arthur recognises as his childhood friend: Eddie Fullerton (Chosen Jacobs). Eddie starts off by telling Arthur that he looks old. Arthur is just shocked to see his old friend.
Flashback to the 1960s: A young Arthur (Jacob Tremblay) lives with his bigoted and abusive father (Charlie Hunnam). Mr Fordham drinks as much as he can handle until he passes out. Arthur sneaks out of the house to meet up with his most unlikely friend Eddie. They head toward a street intersection when they encounter a shady man. He asks if the two of them want to earn a little cash. They look at each other and nod. He gives them each some drugs and tells them to sell it. The two walk the streets selling their drugs to any person that can get their hands on it. That is until everything went wrong. The police catch up to them and arrest them both for drug possession. Arthur is being interrogated by racist a policeman. They speak calmly to him and they ask if the black kid made him do it. Arthur says no, they continue pressuring him until he says that Eddie did everything, they release Arthur from custody and pin all the crime on Eddie.
That night Arthur walks into his home and finds a blood trail on the ground. Near the trail is his father’s dead body, he sits next to it with tears rolling from his eyes. Flashback over.
Back in the courtoom we learn from Eddie that he died in prison a year later. Nevertheless Eddie says that Arthur was his best friend and he forgives him, Eddie testifies in favour of Arthur, leaving the old man emotional.
The next witness, the one who Arthur saved, is a young woman, Arthurs deceased wife Nancy (Lucy Boynton). She looks at Arthur and says “Hey, baby.”
Flashback to the 1980’s: Arthur (Shia Labeouf) is walking the streets when he hears a commotion from a building up ahead. A woman, Nancy is standing on the ledge. He tells the people on the street to keep her occupied while he goes to get her down. Arthur runs up to the roof and slowly approaches her. He tries to talk her down from the ledge, she had obviously been drinking. He tells her he just wants to talk. He calls her beautiful and asks for her name, she tells him and she stares at him. She says goodbye and attempts to jump off but before she does she is grabbed by Arthur. He takes her to his house and lets her sleep in his bed. He never leaves her side. When she wakes the two talk.
A few months later the two are out to dinner, it is romantic. Arthur gets down on one knee and she accepts. They move in together and all is well. They celebrate at home by having sex. Nancy ends up finding out that she is pregnant.
A year later with the baby being taken care of, Arthur is walking home from the theatre with Nancy, he sees something he wants to buy her on the other side of the road and tells her to stay there he will be right back. He runs over to buy the flowers and turns back. Nancy is nowhere to be seen. Arthur hears a scream and runs to an alley where a man has Nancy at gunpoint, she struggles as he wants her jewellery. As she struggles the thug pulls the trigger killing her. Before he can shoot the gun at Arthur, Arthur has tackled him to the ground. He begins punching him in the head until the mugger no longer moves. He mourns over his wife’s dead body. Flashback over.
The elderly Arthur realises that he should not have killed the thug as it didn’t make him feel any better. He tells Nancy he is sorry and that he loves her, she also testifies in favour of Arthur. God tells Arthur that he was surrounded by such good people and wonders why he never gave anything in return to the community or to them. God also wonders why he spent so little time with his son James (Kieran Culkin). Arthur says that James disowned him after he became too much like his own father, bigoted and bitter. The Guardian Angel calls for a recess.
At the recess, the guardian angel reveals that although Arthur has two in favour of him, he is still not winning. The angel asks why he didn’t spend more time with his son, telling him that the way they affect each person’s lives matters in the end. Arthur simply keeps apologising to his guardian angel and says that he wishes he had a second chance.
Now, the last witness arrives; A woman (Erin Moriarty) Arthur does not recognise. She sits in the stand, telling the court that she has watched over Arthur her whole life, and even after everything he still has hope. She tells the court that she is Arthur’s mother, she explains that she died while giving birth to her one son. She monologues to her son and tells him that he should have been more aware of what he was doing to his family and friends around him. She looks at God and he nods at her. She says that Arthur is allowed in Heaven on one condition: he be sent to Earth to spend one last day with his son. Arthur hugs his guardian angel and thanks him for saving his soul. Before he leaves he sees, Eddie, Nancy and his mother one last time, he thanks them all.
Arthur wakes in his own bed, given 24 hours until he dies again. He rushes to James’ house and knocks on the door. James answers and looks at his father with a weird expression. Arthur apologises for everything and asks if he can spend a day with him. James looks to his father and says that he’d like that. James introduces his father to his wife Janet (Tracee Ellis Ross) and his 2 children, Arthur’s grandchildren. A tear comes to Arthur's eye as he hugs his son.
James invites his father to stay for dinner, which he does. After dinner, Arthur looks at his family one last time before saying his goodbyes. He leaves out the front door. His guardian angel is waiting for him outside. It’s his time to go.
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