The Family Man feels like a modern reworking of Capra's It's A Wonderful Life with a sprinkle of Dickens's A Christmas Carol. The story follows money-hungry CEO Jack Campbell (Cage) working on a multi-billion dollar merger on Christmas Eve. He has even set up an emergency meeting on Christmas Day that he expects all his employees to come in for. He unexpectedly gets a call from Kate (Leoni), an old girlfriend he was thinking about marrying before he left her at the airport for a competitive internship in London, but decides to refrain from calling her back. On his way back to his bachelor pad in an NYC high-rise, a mysterious man (Cheadle) offers him a glimpse of the life he could have led, as a family man in Jersey married to Kate with two kids.
There is nothing particularly spectacular about the technical aspects in this film. The cinematography and editing are competent enough to fade into the background and be forgotten. The acting, on the other hand, was something special. Simple performances for relatively simple characters, but full of genuine emotion. You can easily see the hurt and happiness on their faces. You sympathize with them (even if you're not a fan of Nicolas Cage). When you're watching this movie, you are completely enveloped in it. And there is nothing more you want than for them to be happy. It's far from a perfect movie. There are plenty of plot inconsistencies, unclear motivations, and ambiguous backstories, but they matter about as much as the lighting. The Family Man is about the Christmas season and the holiday spirit, and it is pleasantly delightful.
IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0218967/