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Meet Joe Black Reviews

A gimmicky premise is made even worse by iffy acting, hilariously bad dialogue, and a slow pace.

Full Review | Jan 17, 2024

[A] glossy but overlong update of Mitchell Leisen’s 1934 comedy Death Takes a Holiday.

Full Review | Mar 28, 2023

Meet Joe Black was a box office flub back in the late 1990s. But the three hour fantasy-romance movie isn’t all bad and like other cult classics like The Room, is so confidently ridiculous at times, you won't soon forget it.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 20, 2022

Not bad, just not as good as it could have been had the editor been allowed to hack an hour or so off the running time.

Full Review | Oct 26, 2020

A savory, extralong feature whose obvious plotlines unfold with an almost painful slowness that somehow makes them deeper.

To call the three-hour-long "Meet Joe Black" leaden would do an injustice to lead.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/4 | Oct 26, 2020

I've never encountered such dramatic flatulence, never heard so many pregnant silences that don't deliver, never watched so many close-ups that graze on actors' faces until every last trace of expression has been devoured.

Martin Brest's weepie is nicely played but overlong - especially considering the original zipped by in under 80 minutes.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 26, 2020

One tedious, sentimental, drawn out scene gives way to another and death does seem to be having dominion over us.

Pitt, who is not asked to do much more here than behave alternately like a robot, a bashful boy and a moron, fulfills his modest tasks with aplomb. When he has to act, though, he fares less well.

Meet Joe Black marks the latest in a succession of strong turns by Anthony Hopkins. More than even [Brad] Pitt, the film serves as a showcase for the versatile and talented Oscar winner.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Apr 12, 2019

You just feel like you're dragging a set of dumbbells around with you while you're watching it.

Full Review | Feb 6, 2018

Meet Joe Black is sometimes clever and enjoyable, even touching, yet too often the film makes you feel as if you're in Sunday school.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Sep 7, 2011

What might have been an effective fantasy if handled with sophistication and insouciance is instead weighed down by ponderous pacing, overstuffed production values and an instance of miscasting.

Full Review | Jul 22, 2008

Long but never boring, spiritual but never soggy, this is the brand of big entertainment Hollywood is best at but so rarely does right these days.

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Mar 11, 2008

Full Review | Original Score: D+ | Apr 9, 2005

Full Review | Original Score: 2/10 | Oct 12, 2004

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | May 20, 2003

Meet Joe Black is a film with potential that could have been helped immeasurably by being cut to 2 hours.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 8, 2003

Is weighed down by a tediously slow pace and overwrought production values.

Full Review | Aug 21, 2002

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Meet Joe Black

In half the time it takes to "Meet Joe Black," many good films chart an entire life story. By contrast, this thoroughly over-elaborated whimsy dawdles in delineating one man's confrontation with mortality, which presents itself in the person of a handsome young stranger. What might have been an effective fantasy if handled with sophistication and insouciance is instead weighed down by ponderous pacing, overstuffed production values and an instance of miscasting.

By Todd McCarthy

Todd McCarthy

Remember Me 14 years ago
Shutter Island 14 years ago
Green Zone 14 years ago

In half the time it takes to “Meet Joe Black,” many good films chart an entire life story. By contrast, this thoroughly over-elaborated whimsy dawdles in delineating one man’s confrontation with mortality, which presents itself in the person of a handsome young stranger. What might have been an effective fantasy if handled with sophistication and insouciance is instead weighed down by ponderous pacing, overstuffed production values and an instance of miscasting. This first and most expensive of Universal’s four big year-end releases could do some solid midrange business on the basis of Brad Pitt’s name and the public’s seemingly endless appetite for stories relating to angels, intermediaries to the afterlife and so on, no matter how mediocre (“What Dreams May Come”). But whatever B.O. it does cannot possibly match its pretensions.

Popular on Variety

Martin Brest skated on thin ice but got away with it, at least with moviegoers, when he stretched his last film, “Scent of a Woman,” out to 157 minutes. Here, he pushes his luck too far by extending a slim conceit to a full three hours. Rarely has there been a film with so little justification for such a marathon running time; much of the problem stems from the dialogue direction, which often has the actors pausing significantly for many seconds between lines.

The uncharitable could make mileage of the issue that the film upon which “Meet Joe Black” is based, Mitchell Leisen’s 1934 Paramount release “Death Takes a Holiday,” ran just 78 minutes, except for the fact that the new picture isn’t a remake in any meaningful sense. Brest, who began mulling the project seriously more than 15 years ago, and his writers have taken just the central premise — of Death assuming human form for a few days to get a taste of what life is like, and falling in love along the way — and spun it in different, much more detailed ways.

No matter the new film’s failings, its inventions can represent only improvements, as the Leisen picture, itself adapted from a 1920s play, now comes off as deadly dull.

With his 65th birthday fast approaching, New York media tycoon William Parrish (Anthony Hopkins) begins hearing a strange, disembodied voice, and shortly suffers a heart seizure while being spoken to so mysteriously. At the same time, his young physician daughter, Susan (Claire Forlani), who is halfheartedly involved with her father’s ambitious second-in-command, Drew (Jake Weber), has a memorable chance encounter in a coffee shop with a dashing young man (Brad Pitt) who, immediately after, is hit and killed by speeding cars.

In short order, the voice materializes to the mystified William in the guise of the fellow from the coffee shop. In the communications baron’s plush library, the visitor, who goes by the name of Joe Black, informs the older man, a widower whom he has chosen for his exceptional character, that he can buy some time if he will act as his guide to all things earthly.

Thus begins a peculiar relationship in which the dazzlingly blond Joe Black follows the powerful William on all his rounds. First stop is a family dinner, where Susan is understandably disconcerted by the presence of the young man who charmed her in the coffee shop, and even more unnerved by the fact that he doesn’t behave as though he were the same guy. William’s other daughter, the too-eager-to-please Allison (Marcia Gay Harden), her affable but none-too-bright husband, Quince (Jeffrey Tambor), and Drew are also curious about the newcomer.

Joe’s presence induces some polite raised eyebrows among the members of William’s corporate board, which the next day convenes to consider a mega-merger that the principled William refuses to endorse. The underhanded Drew, who has been in cahoots with the other company all along, then sets in motion an elaborate scheme by which he forces William into instant early retirement, a process spurred by the fact that the boss has privately stated that all important matters are now “up to Joe,” a man whose presence and identity no one understands.

It doesn’t help that Joe walks and talks rather like a zombie, and that he prefers peanut butter to any other food. But Susan, for one, is willing to overlook all this in her determination to figure out who the mystery man is, and sure enough maneuvers him into her arms. In line with what the young man in the coffee shop hoped for from the beginning, they fall for each other quickly and deeply, to the great consternation of William; in an instance in which father truly does know best, he demands that his daughter, whom he had earlier told to become “swept away” by love, steer clear of Joe.

After wrestling with his impending fate and coming to accept it, William tells his otherworldly emissary that he’s ready to go, to which Joe replies, “Good. After the party.” This is a cue for the final act, a black-tie birthday bash staged on the vast grounds of William’s stupendous waterfront estate. Encompassing 45 minutes of screen time, the elegant blowout provides the setting for neat resolutions of all of the film’s important narrative and thematic strands, all capped off by a gigantic fireworks display.

By taking so much time and building to the climax so methodically, Brest seems to be trying to pull off a metaphysical slow burn, one whose cumulative impact will prove moving and profound. But even if one buys the premise, the story is finally just too contrived and wispy to support heavy emotional investment.

The heart of the film can be found in Hopkins’ William Parrish, a dynamic man who has been chosen by Death for observation as the best humanity has to offer. As Hopkins plays him, with tremendous verve and sympathy, he is all this, but the character also seems impossibly idealized, truly without flaws. Never is there an indication of the ruthlessness that must have been required to get as far as he did. He is even the perfect widower, forever living in the memory of his adored wife, without a woman to replace her.

By contrast, Pitt’s Joe Black is an odd egg indeed. At times Joe looks as though he hasn’t a clue what to do or say in polite company, while at others he appropriately appears to be several steps ahead of everybody else. Looking dashing and slightly impish at times, Pitt isn’t particularly effective in the moments he must carry the screen alone or in his attempts at physical comedy. He’s better in the romantic interludes, in which Joe experiences love and sex for the first time, and best of all in his scenes with Hopkins, suggesting that he would excel in ensemble pieces cast opposite strong actors, rather than toplined alone.

Forlani makes a decidedly limited impression as the rich man’s daughter who has never before been swept away by love. In the first coffee shop scene, her character says and does nothing to make any impression on the young man, who is impressed anyway, and the tentative manner and skittish eye contact with which the actress endows Susan become tiresome.

Weber starts quietly and eventually commands singular attention as Parrish’s treacherous would-be successor and son-in-law, while Harden and Tambor more gently score in lightly comic support.

Luxuriously upholstered pic so thoroughly expresses the world of its wealthy characters that the money all but drips from the screen. If one had unlimited resources, one might certainly want to engage production designer Dante Ferretti and costume designers Aude Bronson-Howard and David C. Robinson to create one’s personal ambience, with the help of cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki to make sure everything was lit to maximum effectiveness.

Thomas Newman’s score is quite beautiful, particularly in its main theme, which possesses a ghostly echo of his father, Alfred Newman’s, exquisite title music for “The Greatest Story Ever Told.”

Production: A Universal release of a City Light Films production. Produced by Martin Brest. Executive producer, Ronald L. Schwary. Co-producer, David Wally. Directed by Martin Brest. Screenplay, Ron Osborn, Jeff Reno, Kevin Wade, Bo Goldman, suggested by the play "Death Takes a Holiday," written by Alberto Casella and adapted by Walter Ferris, and the motion picture screenplay by Maxwell Anderson and Gladys Lehman.
With: Joe Black/Young Man in Coffee Shop - Brad Pitt William Parrish - Anthony Hopkins Susan Parrish - Claire Forlani Drew - Jake Weber Allison - Marcia Gay Harden Quince - Jeffrey Tambor Eddie Sloane - David S. Howard Jamaican Woman - Lois Kelly-Miller Camera (Deluxe color), Emmanuel Lubezki; editors, Joe Hutshing, Michael Tronick; music, Thomas Newman; production designer, Dante Ferretti; art director, Robert Guerra; set decorator, Leslie Bloom; costume designers, Aude Bronson-Howard, David C. Robinson; sound (DTS/SDDS/Dolby digital), Danny Michael; special visual effects, Industrial Light & Magic; associate producer, Celia Costas; assistant director, Amy Sayres; casting, Juliet Taylor, Ellen Lewis. Reviewed at Universal Studios, Universal City, Oct. 30, 1998. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 180 MIN.

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Meet Joe Black Review

06 Jan 1999

170 minutes

Meet Joe Black

Tipping its good looking head to a brace of current Hollywood vogues — remaking a classic (of sorts) and clocking in almost at a swollen three hours - Martin Brest's puffball metaphysical daydream endeavours for big themes but only delivers pleasant whimsy. The much trimmer (78 minutes) Death Takes A Holiday (1934) is the progenitor, suggesting the curious premise of Death (i.e. the Grim Reaper) taking on human form to dally among humankind for a while. In the original his motive was to discover why he is feared so much, here there seems no more to his arrival than boredom, a chance to sample the delights that a full quota of senses allows him and to hit upon the nearest babe.

Playing the great mortician is a beach blond Brad Pitt, who strains to give him an outlandish Rainman shtick, all clockwork twitches, clucking speech and an attractive wide-eyed vulnerability. He's nabbed the body of a recently deceased lawyer replete with those looks (clever Death) and chosen the ailing billionaire Bill Parrish (Hopkins) as his guide on Earth. Then in virtual slow motion, amid a slew of soft-lit New York finery (he's also savvy enough to sample humanity in the comfort zone of the Masters Of The Universe), Death takes his holiday. It's a familiar fish-out-of-water spiel — experiencing peanut butter, table manners, corporate wrangles and "true love" wrapped in a perpetual veil of incredulity — but brimful of comic value. However, we are in post-Titanic times and the main matter is a doomed romance. Death, temporarily rechristened Joe Black, falls for Parrish's supine doctor daughter Susan (the gaga Forlani) — she digging his oddball honesty, he swept away in a giddy schoolboy daze. It's tenderly done stuff, all the while nagged by those poignant (un)realities, but achingly long-winded and disguising what ultimately amounts to a peculiarly upmarket spin on necrophilia in an orange-hued soft focus.

The film becomes so obsessed with the heavy-lidded stares of its pretty leads that it completely squanders Hopkins. As beautifully crisp and effortless as ever, he charges events with the true nobility of a soul readying himself for death. The script, though, marginalises his quiet acceptance, reducing his contribution to sporadically Pitt's straight man or Forlani's jealous father. When accompanying his illustrious co-star Pitt shines, punctuating his quirky wonderment with flashes of icy darkness if Parrish dares to question the whole deal. Joe Black revealing his true colours.

Meet Joe Black finally cheats on its complications, slipping uncomfortably between the supernatural question marks and any deeper emotional tangles to deliver no more profound a message than to grab life while we can. The reality of all this posturing is simply an overblown romance fused to a far more invigorating comedy of manners, revealing in its leading man a surprising knack for comic timing. At half its length it would have been twice the movie.

The Ending Of Meet Joe Black Explained

We've all seen the viral video of Brad Pitt getting hit by multiple cars at a busy New York City intersection, but how many people know that the clip came from "Meet Joe Black"? The three-hour rumination on life, death, and peanut butter was one of the most hotly anticipated titles of 1998, and for good reason: Pitt was the most sought-after leading man of the day; director Martin Brest was fresh off the Oscar-winning hit "Scent of a Woman" (1992); and the supporting cast boasted the likes of Anthony Hopkins, Claire Forlani, and Marcia Gay Harden.

Yet reviews were tepid and audience response was muted, with much of its box office attributed to "Star Wars" fans who bought a ticket to watch the first trailer for "The Phantom Menace," only to leave before the actual movie started. People of a certain age will no doubt remember it as one of those bulky, two-cassette tape rentals from Blockbuster, even if they don't remember much about the film itself.

In the 25 years since its release, "Meet Joe Black" has become more meme than movie. Yet viewers willing to sit through its gargantuan runtime might be surprised by how much of an emotional wallop the ending packs. Anyone who hasn't seen "Meet Joe Black" yet and doesn't want it spoiled should probably stop reading, as we're about to take a deep dive into the closing passages of a story with enough characters and subplots to fill out three or four different movies.

What you need to remember about the plot of Meet Joe Black

Billionaire Bill Parish ( Anthony Hopkins ) awakens one morning to a voice only he can hear, softly whispering one word: "Yes." As his eldest daughter, Allison (Marcia Gay Harden), prepares a lavish celebration for his 65th birthday, Bill is on the verge of merging his media corporation with another conglomerate, spearheaded by his ruthless lieutenant, Drew (Jake Webber). Drew is engaged to Bill's youngest daughter, the young doctor Susan (Claire Forlani), but Bill has his doubts about the arrangement. He encourages his daughter to keep her options open, because, as he tells her, you never know when lightning might strike.

Lightning indeed strikes that day in a coffee shop, where Susan meets a dashing young man (Brad Pitt) who's just arrived in the city. The two flirt over a cup of joe, but the man is so distracted as they part ways that he's killed while crossing the street. Death decides to seize control of his body and use it to explore the human world. He visits Bill, who's been suffering from chest pains, and makes a deal with him: he'll delay the old man's inevitable demise if he agrees to show him around and teach him about life. Before long Death, going by the name Joe Black, is following Bill around everywhere, sitting in on his board meetings, joining him for his family dinners, and indulging in the pleasures of living, especially a spoonful of peanut butter.

Joe learns about death, taxes, and life's other inevitabilities

Joe also takes a liking to Susan, who's confused that the charming man she met at the coffee shop has turned into an oddball following her father around. He starts visiting her at the hospital where she works, and strikes up a friendship with a dying Jamaican woman (Lois Kelly Miller) who immediately clocks him as a visitor from the other side (the less said about Pitt's Jamaican accent, the better). Pretty soon Susan has ditched her fiancee and jumped into bed with this handsome, doe-eyed stranger. This angers Drew, who's already perturbed that Joe has his boss's ear.

Meanwhile, Bill has a change of heart about the merger, fearing it could jeopardize the objectivity of news media. One night at dinner, Allison's well-meaning husband, Quince (Jeffrey Tambor), who's also on the company board, asks his father-in-law if he'd like to discuss other possible mergers. Bill agrees to set up a meeting, but jokingly says the timing is up to Joe. Quince offers to let Drew in on his deal, telling him they just have to wait for Joe's approval. Drew takes this information to the board, who vote to force Bill into early retirement and follow through with the merger against his wishes. Drew later reveals his ultimate plan to Quince: merge the company, break it up, and sell its parts to the highest bidder. On the eve of his birthday (and death-day), Bill's legacy has crumbled.

What happens at the end of Meet Joe Black

On the day of his birthday party, Bill comes to terms with his impending death. What he won't abide is Joe's plans to take Susan to the afterlife with him. Joe tells him the issue isn't up for debate, and assures him that by the end of the night Susan will have passed to the other side with him. Meanwhile, Allison comes to terms with being her father's second favorite, telling him that even though he clearly loves Susan more, she never wanted for anything from him.

As the party gets underway, Quince expresses remorse for destroying Bill's company, and Joe encourages him to come clean. He does, and Bill hatches a plan to take back control of Parrish Communications. He dispatches Quince to bring Drew to the party, and convenes the board for a secret meeting via speakerphone.

When Drew arrives, Joe reveals his "true" identity, and the nature of his relationship with Bill: he's an IRS agent who recruited Bill to help him investigate dirty dealings at the company Drew has been playing double agent for (it's a nice little callback to a scene where Drew flippantly tells Joe that the only two certainties in life are death and taxes, which takes Joe by surprise). The board votes to fire Drew, stop the merger, and reinstate Bill as the boss. With his professional legacy saved, Bill turns his attention back to saving his daughter by tapping Joe's newfound humanity.

Does Susan know Joe was Death?

Having fallen in love with Joe, Susan is devastated to learn he'll soon be leaving. While dancing together at the party, she recalls something they discussed during their first encounter at the coffee shop (before Death had taken control of his body): he asked if there was anything wrong with a man wanting to take care of a woman who takes care of him, and she told him he'd have a hard time meeting a woman like that these days. Now, she tells him, he's met that woman, and she'll gladly go away with him despite knowing very little about him. Joe realizes the time has come to reveal his true identity to the love of his ... life?

Joe embraces Susan, and she says she feels as though they're lifting off. Fear grows inside her. She looks into Joe's eyes and sees someone she doesn't recognize. It's almost as if he's someone different, she tells him, and when he asks who she thinks he is, she hesitates and replies: "You're Joe." Something in her voice signals that she knows this isn't the same man from the coffee shop, although whether or not she knows who he really is isn't quite clear yet. Later, she watches Joe and Bill walk away together, and when Joe returns alone, she tells him she wishes he could have known her father. The implication is clear: Susan knows Joe was Death, and that Death has claimed her beloved dad.

Does Joe give the body back?

When you think about it, killing a poor, unsuspecting young lad is a horrible way to start your vacation, but then again Death was never known for being fair. When meeting Bill Parrish for the first time, the old man is incredulous that Death could be a kid in a suit. "I needed a body," Death tells him, whether it was the kid's time to go or not. So what happens to the guy from the coffee shop after Death decides to end his holiday? Well, it turns out that Death might have grown a bit of a conscience during his time on Earth after all.

After escorting Bill to the next life, the young man formerly known as Joe Black re-emerges, looking confused and disheveled. He finds Susan, and recognizes her as the beautiful woman he bought a cup of coffee for. The more they talk, the clearer it becomes he has no recollection of the events of the past few days. In fact, he doesn't remember anything between meeting Susan for the first time and seeing her again at the party. What he does know is that he's madly in love with this woman he's met one time, and that's good enough for her. The two lock hands and watch the fireworks explode in front of them before returning to the party, starting their real lives together. (Now the question is: what happened to Bill's body, and why didn't Susan go looking for it?)

How the endings of Meet Joe Black and Death Takes a Holiday are different

"Meet Joe Black" is a remake of the 1934 film "Death Takes a Holiday," which itself was adapted from the French play "La Morte in Vacanza." Directed by Mitchell Leisen, it follows more or less the same plot points as the remake, except it does so in a brisk 79 minutes. Fredric March plays the titular Death, who visits Earth in the guise of the dashing Prince Sirki. Death spends three days with the wealthy Duke Lambert (Guy Standing), and falls in love with the Duke's soon-to-be daughter-in-law, Grazia (Evelyn Venable). Death decides to take Grazia to the other side with him, and the Duke implores him to let the young woman live a full life.

The biggest difference structurally between "Death Takes a Holiday" and "Meet Joe Black" is the subplot about Bill's business dealings, which is completely nonexistent in the original version. The 1934 film also imagines that during the three days Death is on holiday, no one on Earth can die, whereas Joe Black claims he can walk and chew gum at the same time. But the main divergence between the two is in the ending: whereas in "Meet Joe Black" Death decides to give the body back so that Susan can remain on Earth with him, "Death Takes a Holiday" concludes with Grazia deciding to forgo the world of the living to be with her newfound love, which comes as a shock to her fiancee, Corrado (Kent Taylor).

What the ending of Meet Joe Black means

As Bill Parrish prepares for his inevitable death, he takes to the stage at his birthday party for what amounts to a farewell speech. After blowing out the single candle atop his giant cake, he reveals to the crowd what he wished for: "That you would have a life as lucky as mine, where you can wake up one morning and say, I don't want anything more." He suddenly grows quiet, and says, almost to himself, "65 years ... Don't they go by in a blink?"

After sharing a farewell dance with Susan, he goes to Joe to meet his fate, and the two watch the ensuing fireworks show. "Hard to let go, isn't it?" Bill asks Joe. "Well, that's life. What can I tell you?" As they head across the bridge, Bill asks Joe if he should be afraid of what's waiting on the other side. "Not a man like you," Joe replies.

In this handful of scenes, screenwriter Bo Goldman (the last of four credited writers on the film) sums up the thesis of "Meet Joe Black": life is short, and you'd better enjoy every second of it, because it can be over at any minute. Yet as scary as death is, it's still a part of life, and ultimately the part that makes our lives worth living. It's little wonder that Death himself would have a hard time returning to the afterlife, having enjoyed the pleasures of love, family, and, of course, peanut butter.

Another possible explanation of the ending

In the opening passages of "Meet Joe Black," Bill implores Susan not to settle for Drew, as he hears no passion in her voice when she speaks of him. From the moment she meets the handsome stranger in the coffee shop, it's clear they have a connection that could lead to love. But when he shows up at her father's home as Joe Black, Susan is confused by how radically different he's become. By the end she's fallen in love with him anyway, yet as she's saying this to Joe, it becomes apparent that she doesn't love him, but loves the man she met in the coffee shop. It's in this moment that Death realizes he must leave Susan among the living, and he promises her that she'll always have what she felt that day when they first met.

When the young man returns, Susan knows it's not the same person she's spent the past few days with, but the chemistry she felt with the man from the coffee shop has returned. "What do we do now?" she asks this man she loves without really knowing. "It'll come to us," he says. In a way, it's a metaphor for all relationships: you can never fully know a person, and perhaps you're only loving the image of them you've created in your mind. Yet for the brief time that you're alive, try to find someone you can love as fully as possible.

What did critics say about the ending?

"Meet Joe Black" was greeted with a mixed response from critics, who chastised it for its massive length and glacial pace. Even the critics who gave it a positive review had their gripes, especially about the supersized third act. "The movie's ending takes too long," wrote Roger Ebert . "There are farewells, reflections, confessions, reassurances, reconciliations, partings and surprises." Yet Ebert also found much to appreciate in the film. Ebert's TV cohost, Gene Siskel , who at the time was dying of brain cancer, was more positive in his on-air review. He was particularly moved by the film's closing message, which he summed up as, "Love intensely. And take your life seriously."

Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post was more negative, calling the ending "excessive" and saying that "much of director Martin Brest's so far firm rein on the proceedings is dissipated in a squishy denouement whose payoff does not fulfill the film's grand promise." Variety 's Todd McCarthy wrote of the final act, "Brest seems to be trying to pull off a metaphysical slow burn, one whose cumulative impact will prove moving and profound." Yet he found the story "too contrived and wispy to support heavy emotional investment." And Owen Gleiberman, penning an ultimately positive notice in Entertainment Weekly , complained that "not enough happens to justify the somber monumentalism" which Brest "lavishes on this whimsical supernatural soap opera," adding that the film "goes on for nearly an hour too long."

What has the cast and crew said about the ending?

In a 2011 interview with Entertainment Weekly , Brad Pitt looked back on "Meet Joe Black" with a twinge of regret. "That was the pinnacle of my ... loss of direction and compass," he said. It's easy to understand why he'd feel that way, since the lion's share of critics slammed his performance as Death with frosted tips. "I dogged it," he added. "I miffed it. I shouldn't have been there in the first place."

For director Martin Brest, whose other credits include the action comedies "Midnight Run" (1988) and "Beverly Hills Cop" (1984), the film was the beginning of the end of his career as a major Hollywood filmmaker. He would direct one more movie, the critical and commercial disaster "Gigli" (2003), before leaving the business for good. Although he's spent most of the last two decades in hiding, he has emerged from time to time as of late, sitting down for a long-form interview with Variety in 2023.

He spoke fondly of "Meet Joe Black," particularly the scene where Death reveals his identity to Susan, which he considers "the most accomplished [scene] I've ever been involved with, even though it's just two people talking to each other, because there's so many components in it, and it's saying something that I would have an impossible time expressing to somebody." Brest added that the scene was "one of the reasons I wanted to do the movie," and why, despite its detractors, he's still "very proud of" it.

Meet Joe Black

By Peter Travers

Peter Travers

Exiting an advance screening of Meet Joe Black , I filed into an elevator with others who had just spent a punishing three hours watching Brad Pitt act like Death. Pitt’s Joe Black is really the Grim Reaper in temporary possession of the body of a blond Adonis; he wants to learn what the big deal is about being alive. After slogging through scenes of Joe matching wits with Bill Parrish (Anthony Hopkins), the tycoon he has come to dispatch with a heart attack on Bill’s sixty-fifth birthday, and then falling in love with Susan (Claire Forlani), Bill’s pretty but vacuous doctor daughter, we unhappy few in the elevator looked like the walking dead ourselves. One groggy observer raised his bleary eyes and said to no one in particular, “Fucking long.”

br> Fucking right. Meet Joe Black is a movie about death that stubbornly refuses to come to life. Is it bad? Indisputably. Is it lazy hack work? Hell, no. Director Martin Brest is too ambitious for that. The former New York University film student works infrequently, having made only five movies in two decades. But even Brest’s comedies have a thing for black. Going in Style (1979), his first studio film, features three near-death retirees, played by George Burns, Art Carney and Lee Strasberg, who rob a bank.

“What film student’s first movie is about octogenarians?” asks Bo Goldman, who co-wrote the screenplay for Meet Joe Black with Kevin Wade, Ron Osborne and Jeff Reno. Goldman knows the answer: “Marty is obsessed with death.” Issues of mortality invade Brest’s films — even the glossy Beverly Hills Cop (1984), in which Eddie Murphy is haunted by the murder of his best friend. In Midnight Run (1988), Brest’s finest film, Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin flee the mob. In the overrated Scent of a Woman (1992), Al Pacino won an Oscar for his “Hoo-ha!” hamboning as a blind, alcoholic Army colonel who taunts death with his suicidal acts.

In Meet Joe Black , only Bill faces Death head-on, since the other major characters don’t know who Joe is. The film has been vaunted as a romance, much like the 1934 Fredric March film Death Takes a Holiday , which inspired this update. But Brest is more concerned with Joe’s feelings about Bill, the publishing genius who holds integrity above financial gain. (Bill, it should be unnecessary to point out, bears no resemblance to any real person, living or dead.) Joe comes to admire Bill as the old man battles corporate sharks to keep control of his company.

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Hopkins, in the only fully imagined role, is outstanding when widower Bill recalls his first meeting with his adored wife, down to the collar on her blouse — a rare instance when Brest gets the details right. With Susan and Joe, fireworks explode and Thomas Newman’s score swells, but the emotion feels unearned.

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The movie saddles good actors — Marcia Gay Harden, as Bill’s neglected older daughter, and Jeffrey Tambor, as her sweet screw-up husband — with one-dimensional roles. And Pitt barely gets that. Joe is a literary conceit as hard to flesh out as the ghost child in Beloved . Pitt’s Joe talks softly, like a mute who has just gained the gift of speech. Death is testing the human capacity for joy on everything from peanut butter to first-ever sex. What the role needs is the sly whimsy of Johnny Depp in Benny and Joon and the soulful longing of Nicolas Cage in City of Angels. What it gets is Pitt trapped as a passive bystander — allowed only a few cracks about death and taxes; talkin’ Jamaican, man, to a dying woman who spots him for a spook; and eating that damned sticky peanut butter.

The peanut butter is about the only thing in Meet Joe Black that does stick. A reported $90 million budget has been freely lavished to show the rich enjoying their privileges in a Newport, Rhode Island, mansion by the sea and a Manhattan triplex with a penthouse pool. But deluxe trappings can’t disguise a hollow core. On Bill’s birthday night, Susan gushes at model-chic Joe, “I’d like to undress you right here on the dance floor.” Why bother, honey? There’s nothing underneath.

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Meet Joe Black (1998): A Minimalist, Philosophical Film About Life and Love

Meet Joe Black is an interesting romantic drama with a supernatural twist and was inspired by Mitchell Leisen’s 1934 film Death Takes a Holiday . Directed by Martin Brest, Meet Joe Black was his follow up after winning a Golden Globe for Scent of a Woman . Reuniting Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins, the film also stars Claire Forlani and Marcia Gay Harden.

Love is passion, obsession, someone you can’t live without. I say, fall head over heels. Find someone you can love like crazy and who will love you the same way back.

Meet Joe Black has William Parrish (Anthony Hopkins), an almost 65-year-old businessman at its center. Bill is an astute capitalist with a loving family. However, his health is in decline and his company under siege from its competitors. By his side are his two loving daughters, Susan (Claire Forlani) and Allison. The former is the apple of her father’s eye and the latter is quite aware that she isn’t the favourite, but loves her father wholeheartedly nonetheless.

Susan is involved with Drew (Jake Weber), her father’s business associate who Bill doesn’t want as a future son in law. Instead, he encourages Susan to “find someone you can love like crazy, and who’ll love you the same way back.”

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Prophetic words as Susan meets a handsome stranger in a café and they instantly connect. Without exchanging names, Susan and the stranger part ways, both feeling smitten and excited about the future. Unbeknownst to Susan, the young man is killed soon after their meeting and his body is inhabited by Death (AKA A Grim Reaper).

Death visits William and confirms his time on earth is up. William, however, is not ready to say his final goodbyes. As a bargain of sorts, Death agrees to postpone William’s death in exchange for allowing him to learn about and experience life. Death, named Joe Black (Brad Pitt), enters the Parish household and becomes William’s shadow. Joe is also reunited with Susan. Matters are complicated as Bill’s death draws closer and Joe discovers love and human emotion while cloaked as the grim reaper.

In my opinion, Meet Joe Black has the potential to be quite a divisive film. I think viewers will both respond to it and therefore enjoy the romance and stillness of the film. Or on the contrary, find it slow, dull and convoluted. I can see an argument for both perspectives. Meet Joe Black rests I believe less on the premise (which is quite absurd if I’m being honest) and more in the performances. In this film, Anthony Hopkins easily runs circles around every other actor. He is masterful in his portrayal of a man who understands that his time on earth is limited. He is thoughtful, measured and yet layered with passion and determination.

I love you now. I love you always.

Alongside him, Brad Pitt has the role that grounds the film. Meet Joe Black hinges on his ability to play Death, to imbue the character with depth and allow the audience to connect with him as he experiences life, emotions and even food for the first time. Unfortunately, Pitt’s performance is hit and miss. There are times when he’s a delight to watch and there are others where his stillness feels awkward and uncomfortable. As an actor, he seems overly aware of his performance, the cadence of his voice and his physical movements. As a viewer, I felt that awareness and at times it removed me from the film.

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Despite that, however, his chemistry with Claire Forlani is sweet and Susan’s growing emotions which parallel Joe’s does captivate and draw you in. It’s a complicated dynamic as Death discovers love and has no reference for what to do with the emotions. In addition, William knows who Joe is and is also helpless to stop a romance he knows is doomed.

Besides the central dramatic tension, Meet Joe Black also has a subplot involving the hostile takeover of William’s company, as well as the intricate relationship between William and his eldest daughter. Both these elements are underdeveloped in the film and the takeover aspect, in particular, might have been dropped completely. Drew is very thinly drawn and his demise serves only as a foil to Joe’s development as a character. Marcia Gay Harden is wonderful though and manages to play out a few very emotional, memorable scenes for herself.

Final Thoughts

Meet Joe Black is romantic at its core. It’s emotional and manages to tug quite effectively at the heartstrings. The pacing of the film, as well as uneven performances from the cast, however, make it less memorable. Despite that, Meet Joe Black was one of my favourite films in 1998 and I own it on DVD.

If you haven’t seen Meet Joe Black , I would recommend giving it a go. The premise is quite unique, even if the execution isn’t perfect.

Brad Pitt and Claire Forlani are also incredibly beautiful on screen. So if you needed some additional encouragement, their perfect aesthetic is a sight to behold.

Where to Watch: Meet Joe Black is available for sale on Vudu, iTunes, and Amazon. It also streams on Amazon.

Content Note: Meet Joe Black is rated PG-13 for an accident scene, some sexuality, and brief strong language.

Have you watched Meet Joe Black ? What did you think? Comment below and let me know!

Photo Credit: Universal Pictures, City Light Films

OVERALL RATING

“I think this is the beginning of a beautiful

friendship.”

ROMANCE RATING

“In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My

feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me

to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”

ARE YOU A ROMANCE FAN? FOLLOW THE SILVER PETTICOAT REVIEW:

Naazneen hails from South Africa and has spent most of her life steeped quite happily in fandom. A corporate Human Resource professional by day, she completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology and is currently completing her MPhil at the University of Cape Town. She spends her nights in a parallel universe where her creative pursuits find meaningful outlets. When she is not doing research, writing fanfiction or reading the latest novel for her book club, she is voraciously consuming information on pop culture and global socio-political issues - or quite simply, travelling the world. She loves words, fangirling shamelessly, Mr. Darcy and rugged beards... a lot.

6 thoughts on “Meet Joe Black (1998): A Minimalist, Philosophical Film About Life and Love”

I love this film mostly for the depiction of the father daughter relationship. The end scene between William and Susan makes me cry every time.

ITA. The ending was a little weird for me. But then working with the premise, its best to just go with it 😀 I love Allison’s speech too. Its so heartbreaking

I’ve loved this film since I first saw it many years ago. I’ve watched at least 3 times but its been a while but thanks to your review I am reminded that its time to see it again. I loved the unusual premise. I think the relationship between father/daughters is great to watch. And I love the yearning between the characters that Brad and Claire play. I just went with it and didn’t question the premise. Thank you for your thoughts on it.

I have a huge soft spot for this film. I think the exquisite string harmony that plays over the most poignant scenes is worth mentioning. It really elevates the emotions. Well mine anyway. I just rewatched it, mostly for the strings. As you say, Hopkins is close to his best. Pitt is harder to classify, it’s a very difficult role. He must be alien in his skin but compelling enough to draw you in. If he is too childlike, his relationship with Susan becomes creepy and weird, that it doesn’t, for the most part, is a testament to he and Forlani. And just because I love her so much in this film: to borrow a modern meme “find someone who looks at you the way Claire Forlani looks at everything”.

I saw this film pretty much the week it came out in theaters in 1998. I remembering admiring so many things, and yet feeling it missed the mark, and feeling that the end was melodramatically overdone and over-long.I do not feel that way anymore.

I think this film is an absolute masterpiece, one of the best films of the 1990’s, and quickly becoming a personal favorite. Once you surrender to what it is, and not fight it’s length or pacing or unusualness, chances are it will fill your soul, and keep you thinking about it (and mentally humming the musical score) for days and days after.I’d seen it probably 3 times: upon release, and twice after, at least once with my dad (who has been an admirer of the film and the performances of the ensemble cast since we saw it that November in ’98). I’ve often wondered why he connected so strongly with it all this time, and now, I understand.

Truth is, I’ve watched this film 4 1/2 times in the past 10 days. Starting with watching the latter half, then watching from beginning-to-end later that night (when it came on cable again). Then 3 more times this past week. It has haunted me, and distracted me, and I’m just plain fascinated with my sudden new-found obsession with all that it has to offer. I’m not sick of it, and plan to watch it again relatively soon. In the meantime, I chose to search information on it, so I came across your review here. In that same internet search, I seem to have discovered a 4 hour and 20 minute version available on DVD. Unless that is a typo. I hope not, because more of this movie is just fine with me.

It’s stunningly good, and now that I’ve fully embraced it, the reason I’ve watched it so much this past week-and-a-bit, is to relive and to truly relish the moments between all the great characters. Which makes me realize, the deliberate length and consistently-slow pacing is not just to accommodate the never-ending great acting/editing choices, but to aesthetically match the philosophical content of the plot: To enjoy the moment, to feel the absence and yet ever-present nature of time. To not want Hopkins life to end. To not want the movie (life) to end, but knowing that the movie (life) must end. It’s brilliant.

I’ve always liked long movies, and if earned and rich with great scenes and purpose, they are among the best. This one has shot to the upper tier of the list for me, and I suspect will stay there, ever-presently.Thanks for your review. It is an immensely romantic film, and will grow to be a true classic in time, I believe. For me, it will be.

This movie is one of my all time favorites, and most of my other favorites usually involve Scifi or action of some sort, so Meet Joe Black really spoke to me. I find it to be a timeless classic that has a philosophical core to it. Everytime I sit down and watch it, which is once every few years, I find myself finding something new that rings true about life and its stages. That is how you know the film is not just about entertainment, but a true piece of art.

The score alone sets the movie apart for for me to the point that I have adopted it as my own personal soundtrack and lullaby for my kids. It has this enticing and enjoyable way of reminding you to enjoy the little things in life; to take a breath and enjoy the moment, for it may never come again. It heightens and cues every scene in the movie perfectly, but the brilliance of the movie is that it does not always even need the score to get you to feel and react.

As others have said this is Anthony Hopkins at his best. He takes the simplicities of playing a father and business man and plays them masterfully as if you where watching Henry the 5th. I had never been as influenced or drawn in by such a mundane character as Bill Parish. Claire Forlani does a remarkable job as well, being able display everything she is thinking with just her eyes. I was especially impressed by the actress who played Allison and Jeffrey Tambor’s performances. Perfectly cast and executed for their roles. Allison’s story arch mirrored my mothers as she has always loved my grandfather exponentially even though the youngest daughter was the family favorite. And I just have to say, I know there are naysayers to Pitt’s performance, but I think he did a wonderful job considering the uniqueness of the role. The out of body awareness coupled with just the right amount of charm and humor was perfect for the role. The only time it felt awkward for me was when he was the coffee shop guy, and that’s simply because no one is that charming without being full of it.

Comments are closed.

November 13, 1998 FILM REVIEW 'Meet Joe Black': When Death Comes to Call, Serve Peanut Butter Related Articles Current Film Video Selected Scenes and Trailer From the Film Forum Join a Discussion on Film By JANET MASLIN h, to die in a sugar-coated Hollywood movie while the spiritual schmaltz craze is under way! You look your best. You say wise things. Your loved ones cherish them. Perhaps there'll be a party with a dance band and fireworks in your honor. And you can spend as much time on your last farewells as it took to sink the Titanic, a ship that doubtless bears some responsibility for the rise of the four-star demise. You can even insist, as the oppressively lavish and snail-paced "Meet Joe Black" does, that the old wisdom about the rich man and the eye of the needle was dead wrong. William Parrish, the noble tycoon played zestily by Anthony Hopkins in this otherwise somnolent, emotion-free weepie, is just such a fortunate paragon. And "Meet Joe Black" does its prettified best to find inspiration in watching him die. Because William is wise, kind, generous and so well-heeled that he pays no attention to the great paintings on his remarkably many walls (Manhattan triplex, sleek offices, Versailles-like seaside palace), destiny even gives him a gift: a personal afterlife trainer in the form of Brad Pitt. As Death with blond highlights, Pitt might have been expected to give the film a pulse, but his role is conceived in an all too appropriately lifeless fashion. "Meet Joe Black" is a latter-day version of "Death Takes a Holiday," the play that was filmed in 1934 with Fredric March and had some nicely fanciful notions of what might happen if Death gave himself a breather. For instance, it would be impossible to commit suicide by jumping off the Eiffel Tower, and withering plant life would flourish; perhaps, in the wildly overlong case of "Meet Joe Black," enough plant life to refoliate deserts. But as directed by Martin Brest, who last made "Scent of a Woman," "Meet Joe Black" doesn't even have time for such charming diversions. It's busy showing off the Parrish family's privileged life style ad nauseam (the lily-gilding is formidable, thanks to production design by Dante Ferretti and Emmanuel Lubezki's polished cinematography). And it devotes one whole dopey subplot to planning William's grandiose birthday fete. Naturally, there is much excitement among the Parrishes when Pitt arrives in their midst. He actually plays two roles, the first a supposedly gee-whiz young man who meets beautiful, dedicated Dr. Susan Parrish (Claire Forlani, fresh and exotically alluring) in a coffee shop. They meet, they flirt and then blam! The young man is dispatched in a traffic accident, which gives faceless, formless Death a bright idea. Since Brad Pitt's face and body are available, why not visit earth as arm candy from what the film refers to as "the next place?" Meanwhile, William is having severe heart trouble, which takes the form of heavy editing, strident musical melodrama and agonized winces from Hopkins. His number is almost up, but Death would like to offer him a bonus round. In exchange for showing Death, a k a Joe Black, what it means to be a happy mogul, William can put his affairs in order without much of a rush. And Joe Black, while falling for Susan, can express innocent amazement at human life as if he were a great-looking version of E.T. There are repeated, ostensibly delightful scenes in which Joe discovers the wonders of peanut butter. Want to know how long "Meet Joe Black" is? It's long enough not only for the peanut butter rhapsodies but for William to wax rhapsodic about his late wife's lamb sandwiches with cilantro. ("Not as chewy as roast beef. Not as boring as chicken.") It's long enough for the lines "What a lovely name, Joe!" and "There's so many words I wanted to say but, uh, I can't, so I'd better sit down." It's long enough for a discussion of a famous pastry chef and for flower arrangements that upstage the characters. With a too-many-cooks screenplay credited to Ron Osborn, Jeff Reno, Kevin Wade and Bo Goldman, it's so long that every character regrettably wears out his or her welcome. There's not a scene or performance here -- especially Pitt's in its blank-faced, laconic moments -- that couldn't have been helped in the editing room by picking up the pace. Though Pitt plays it impassive too often, he and Ms. Forlani have some gently amorous moments, even if he winds up saddled with the single worst line of his career once they kiss. ("The taste of your lips and the touch of your tongue -- that was wonderful!") He and Hopkins also show signs of an engaging rapport, though it suffers a spate of needless long pauses. The small cast also includes Marcia Gay Harden as William's older, more gratingly fatuous daughter, Jeffrey Tambor as her husband and Jake Weber as part of a particularly by-the-numbers subplot about trouble at William's company. This calls for important-looking meetings beside one more drop-dead canvas and a group of stiff-looking extras as board members. There's a token woman, but she doesn't seem to vote. Another sidetrack finds Pitt speaking in Jamaican argot to a dying old woman who has his number. His Caribbean accent hasn't much reason to be here ("I doan have nuttin' to do wit' dese t'ings, y'know?") but it's lilting enough to make one wish "Meet Joe Black" would lighten up and take a vacation of its own. "Meet Joe Black" is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). It includes mild profanity and a dewy, leisurely sexual interlude. PRODUCTION NOTES: 'MEET JOE BLACK' Produced and directed by Martin Brest; written by Ron Osborn, Jeff Reno, Kevin Wade and Bo Goldman; director of photography, Emmanuel Lubezki; edited by Joe Hutshing and Michael Tronick; music by Thomas Newman; production designer, Dante Ferretti; released by Universal Pictures. Running time: 170 minutes. WITH: Brad Pitt (Joe Black), Anthony Hopkins (William Parrish), Claire Forlani (Susan Parrish), Jake Weber (Drew), Marcia Gay Harden (Allison) and Jeffrey Tambor (Quince).

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Meet joe black, common sense media reviewers.

Disappointing '90s romantic fantasy has language, sex.

Meet Joe Black movie poster: Brad Pitt shows affection to a woman

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Some messages on not settling when searching for t

Bill refuses to sell his media company to a greedy

There's a subplot concerning an elderly Jamaican w

A character gets hit and killed by a bus and a car

Sex scene, no nudity. Some talk about sex.

Some language throughout. "F--k" used once. Also:

After-dinner cocktail drinking. Wine, champagne, a

Positive Messages

Some messages on not settling when searching for true love, even if said true love happens to be the Grim Reaper. Reflections on mortality, on trying to live a good and honest life.

Positive Role Models

Bill refuses to sell his media company to a greedy corporation, even if it would make him even richer, as he extols the virtues of honest and straightforward news reporting.

Diverse Representations

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

A character gets hit and killed by a bus and a car while standing in the middle of an NYC intersection.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Some language throughout. "F--k" used once. Also: "s--t," "a--hole," "ass," "son of a bitch," "goddamn," "damn," "hell."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

After-dinner cocktail drinking. Wine, champagne, and cocktail drinking at fancy soirees.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Meet Joe Black is a 1998 romantic fantasy movie in which Brad Pitt plays Death. A man is struck and killed by a bus and a car while standing in the middle of an intersection in New York City. Some language, including "f--k," "s--t," "a--hole," "ass," "son of a bitch," "goddamn," "damn," and "hell." A sex scene contains no nudity. Some talk about sex. Cocktail and wine drinking. There's a subplot concerning an elderly Jamaican woman dying in a hospital who recognizes Joe Black as the Grim Reaper, leading to discussions in which he breaks into a terrible Jamaican accent. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

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Community Reviews

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Based on 2 parent reviews

Ignore the critics- make your own assessment

A beautiful, sincere, and moving movie about letting go, what's the story, is it any good, talk to your kids about ....

Families can talk about how Death is portrayed in Meet Joe Black . How is it considered to be ironic to have an actor like Brad Pitt playing this role?

How does the movie address themes like true love, the purpose of life, and mortality?

In what ways does this movie seem dated? Does it still feel relevant? Why or why not?

Movie Details

On DVD or streaming : December 20, 1998
Cast : Brad Pitt , Anthony Hopkins , Claire Forlani
Director : Martin Brest
Inclusion Information : Female actors
Studio : Universal
Genre : Drama
Run time : 180 minutes
MPAA rating : PG-13
MPAA explanation : Accident scene, some sexuality and brief strong language.
Last updated : December 21, 2023

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Movie and Film Reviews (MFR)

Movie Review of ‘Meet Joe Black’ (1998)

1998’s Meet Joe Black is not everyone’s cup of tea. A polarising feature, it underperformed at the box office, earning mixed reviews before ultimately fading into obscurity. Some may call the film plodding due to its three-hour length, while others might find it hokey or cliché, but, in the eyes of this reviewer, the experience of Meet Joe Black is enrapturing. Directed by Martin Brest ( Beverly Hills Cop ), the movie is fundamentally a remake of 1934’s Death Takes a Holiday , using the basic premise as a jumping off point to create a captivating romantic drama with thematic undercurrents relating to mankind’s mortality. It’s a carefully-designed motion picture that requires patience and tolerance, but it’s also rewarding, making for grand entertainment for those in the right mood.

A successful corporate tycoon and multi-millionaire, William Parrish (Anthony Hopkins) is only a few days away from celebrating his 65th birthday. Already anxious due to his advanced age and all of his work-related responsibilities, Bill is further troubled by occasional chest pains, accompanied by a mysterious voice inside his head. Before long, Bill is visited by the Grim Reaper, adopting the name Joe Black (Brad Pitt), personified in the body of a recently-deceased young man. Informing Bill that he’s dying, Death explains that he wants to tour the world as a mortal human, and wishes for Bill to be his tour guide. As long as the Grim Reaper stays interested on his “holiday,” Bill will be able to continue living, but Death will take Bill with him when he returns to the “next place.” During his self-appointed vacation, Death learns valuable lessons about humanity, in addition to learning about love as he develops strong feelings for Bill’s daughter Susan (Claire Forlani).

Without a doubt, death is the greatest sadness faced by humanity, as every single one of us is going to die one day. Meet Joe Black explores the question of what one would do if you knew that your life has come to an end. Bill begins to contemplate what means the most to him in life, scheduling family dinners on a daily basis, tying up loose ends, and generally soaking up the time that he has left. Even though the picture clocks in at around three hours, it earns its extensive length, spending adequate time on character development and giving the various narrative threads the breadth they required. We get to know all of the characters honestly and authenticity, and become invested in their subplots. The screenplay has received criticism for the ostensibly inconsistent treatment of the Grim Reaper, as he often seems childlike and awkward, but at other times he’s strangely knowledgeable about certain things. However, the fact that Death is an enigma is one of the most interesting aspects of the movie. What if his childlike demeanour is an act to keep Bill on his toes? What if he’s only picked up tiny bits and pieces during his existence? We do not need to get into Death’s head and know what makes him tick – we are experiencing the oddity of seeing a human Death alongside the characters, and Brest does not give viewers additional information.

Despite its spiritual and supernatural trappings, Meet Joe Black is imbued with a fairy-tale quality, as well as a dose of poetic humanism. Although the $90 million budget is absurd for a drama of this ilk, Brest’s construction of the film is magnificent, shooting with purpose a maintaining a steady pace throughout. There’s immense visual allure to Emmanuel Lubezki’s cinematography, making wise use of the grand set design, while the editors were unafraid to hold onto shots of characters as their expressions say a thousand words. Some may find the movie plodding, but there’s a brilliant rhythm to the picture. Perhaps the definitive touch is Thomas Newman’s score, which is breathtaking and extraordinarily well-judged. It adds another layer to the fine movie, amplifying the intended feel of practically every scene without being too intrusive. It’s some of Newman’s finest work. Miraculously, Meet Joe Black at no point feels overly corny or saccharine. Some may scoff at the seriousness with which Brest approaches the material, but this reviewer gets lost in the sincerity of the enterprise. There is also some wry humour throughout, which prevents the film from becoming a dour experience.

Anthony Hopkins, it would seem, is incapable of delivering a dud performance. This role affords Hopkins a number of scenes in which he can convey the humanity and reflection of a man who has lived a great life, but is forced to come to terms with the fact that it’s drawing to a close. Hopkins is strong-willed as William Parrish; he’s somewhat comical at times, while intimidating and chilling at other times. Above all else, Hopkins turns Bill into a warm and wise father, making the character wholly believable. Brad Pitt is also enormously effective as Death, playing the role with admirable conviction. His demeanour is beautifully understated, naïve and unique, and he conveys Death’s arc as he grows to learn what it means to be human. Meanwhile Claire Forlani is engaging and beguiling as Bill’s daughter Susan, while top-shelf support is provided by Marcia Gay Harden and Jeffrey Tambor. Tambor is especially good, as he’s highly amusing.

I cannot help but sing praise for Meet Joe Black , which reimagines Death Takes a Holiday in a fresh, grand fashion. I love the lingering scenes, the deliberate pacing, the fullness of the narrative, and the way that the characters are richly developed, making this a movie that I frequently watch. While it may have been superior with a tauter screenplay, the movie in its current form is simply sublime. It’s not for everyone, but what movie is? It’s a beautiful experience for those willing to give themselves over to its meditations on life, love and loss, and it’s full of majesty, wisdom, and old-fashioned storytelling. Long but curiously never boring, and spiritual but never soggy, this is a brand of cinematic entertainment that Hollywood rarely gets right.

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Meet Joe Black (United States, 1998)

Meet Joe Black has the dubious distinction of being the longest film to date of 1998. It is also one of the most tedious and bombastic. At a hair under three hours, it's shorter than James Cameron's Titanic , yet, when it comes to pace, Joe Black is glacial. Director Martin Brest, who helmed the enjoyable-but-also-too-long Scent of a Woman , is at his absolute worst here. Brest transforms a seemingly foolproof idea into an overblown bore.

There are slow movies, slooooooooooow movies, and then there's Meet Joe Black . Somehow, Brest manages to take a script lacking the content to justify a two hour motion picture and drag it out to three. Several obvious techniques are applied to accomplish this. The first, and most obvious, is that the director forces his actors to insert frequent, lengthy pauses into all dialogue (I kept wondering if he believed he was directing William Shatner). It wouldn't be as bad if the conversations were well-written, but most of what the characters say is sophomoric and rarely of much interest. Then, to add insult to injury, Brest never lets a scene end naturally, but keeps things going long past the point where the audience has lost interest.

Meet Joe Black was loosely suggested by the 1934 movie, Death Takes a Holiday , which, in turn, was based on a '20s stage play of the same name. This is not a strict remake - in fact, a key subplot is eliminated entirely - but it uses the black-and-white film's central conceit: what would happen if Death decided to temporarily abandon his place in the cosmos and reside for a brief time on Earth? Meet Joe Black postulates that he might look like Brad Pitt, fall in love with a beautiful young woman, and help save a good man's company. One thing this movie ignores, however, is how the universe fares with Death on vacation. Death Takes a Holiday went to great pains to describe the horrors of a world in which there was still illness and injury, but no death. Disappointingly, that potentially-fascinating aspect of the situation is ignored by Meet Joe Black , which wastes the bulk of its three hours on a passionless romance and an absurd corporate takeover scheme.

The film introduces Bill Parrish (Anthony Hopkins), a corporate tycoon on the verge of celebrating his 65th birthday. He's also about to die from a heart attack. One night, after dinner, Death (Brad Pitt) appears with an offer: he'll put off "taking" Bill if, in return, Bill will introduce him to the wonders of being alive. The longer Bill can keep him interested in remaining corporeal, the longer the reprieve. So Bill introduces Death, renamed "Joe Black," to his family: daughters Susan (Claire Forlani) and Allison (Marcia Gay Harden), son-in-law Quince (Jeffrey Tambor), and future son-in-law Drew (Jake Weber). With his almost childlike innocence, Joe is an immediate hit with everyone except Drew, who sees him as a rival for Susan's affections. His fears are justified; soon Joe and Susan are falling for each other, and there's nothing that Bill can do to stop the doomed relationship.

The centerpiece of Meet Joe Black is the romance between Joe and Susan, but it's not the kind of motion picture love affair that causes the spirit to soar. Forlani and Pitt may both possess matinee-style good looks, but they generate no heat or chemistry, and, as a result, they end up being featured in some of the most painfully protracted and awkward romantic sequences of any movie this year. As bland as they are together, they're not much more compelling when apart. At least Susan shows hints of three-dimensionality. Joe is unreadable - sometimes ingenuous, sometimes ominous, but never interesting. (And, since Death has been watching humankind for eons, how is it that he doesn't understand what kissing and sex are?) When it comes to a spiritual being taking a physical form, Nicholas Cage's angel in City of Angels wins the 1998 sweepstakes.

In general, Brad Pitt is not a terrible actor, and I give him credit for trying to broaden his range, but his work here is execrable. Pitt's acting, in concert with Brest's heavy-handed direction, makes this character a complete waste of celluloid. Joe Black looks like death warmed over. Anthony Hopkins does his best to add a dose of class to the proceedings, but there's only so much he can do, and he isn't given an especially meaty part. Claire Forlani, the young beauty from Basquiat , shows great promise, although there are a few scenes when she looks like a deer caught in a car's headlights. Jake Weber is suitably despicable as the traitorous Drew, and Marcia Gay Harden and Jeffrey Tambor provide adequate support.

As is Brest's trademark, there's plenty of emotional button-pushing, only this time, the director doesn't have a good feel for how best to manipulate the audience. There's a big speech near the end and a lot of melodramatic music, but, instead of leading the viewer into a state of emotional rapture, it all rings hollow. Perhaps it's because there's no rapport between the audience and the characters, or perhaps it's because the movie has long since worn out its welcome. Either way, the grand finale, like almost everything else in the movie, is a dud. As far as epics go, this one is a failure. In fact, by comparison, Meet Joe Black makes last year's Kevin Costner post-apocalyptic tale, The Postman , seem like a model of restraint and solid storytelling.

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Meet Joe Black

Death, who takes the form of a young man killed in an accident, asks a media mogul to act as his guide to teach him about life on Earth and, in the process, he falls in love with the mogul's daughter.
William Parrish (Sir Anthony Hopkins), media tycoon, loving father, and still a human being, is about to celebrate his 65th birthday. One morning, he is contacted by the inevitable, by hallucination, as he thinks. Later, Death enters his home and his life, personified in a man's body: Joe Black (Brad Pitt) has arrived. His intention was to take William with him, but accidentally, Joe's former host and William's beautiful daughter Susan (Claire Forlani) have already met. Joe begins to develop certain interest in life on Earth, as well as in Susan, who has no clue with whom she's flirting. — Julian Reischl <[email protected]>
Joe Black (Brad Pitt) and William Parrish (Sir Anthony Hopkins) enter into a most unusual gentleman's agreement. Wealthy media tycoon William Parrish leads a charmed existence until Death comes calling with an extraordinary proposition, he'll delay William's imminent demise in exchange for a tour of life. Innocent, enigmatic, and often hilarious, Joe disrupts William's world of privilege and corporate intrigue. But when he falls for William's beautiful daughter, Susan (Claire Forlani), Joe threatens to change the rules. Now William must fight not for his future, but for those he loves in this bittersweet tale of life and death. — Robert Lynch <[email protected]>
William Parish (Anthony Hopkins) is a multimillionaire who has run a successful empire for the past forty years in New York. But, after his wife passes away, he feels empty and becomes convinced that Death is now after him too. He hears strange voices in his head, mimicking his own words, but they are phony and ridicule him in every possible manner. William's eldest and somewhat meddlesome daughter, Allison (Marcia Gay Harden), is planning her father's 65th birthday party. Her sister Susan (Claire Forlani), an attractive young doctor, is involved with one of Bill's board members, Drew (Jake Weber). Her father disapproves of the relationship and suggests she look for someone more suited to her character. Early in the morning she meets a handsome and cheery stranger (Brad Pitt) in a café, but fails to learn his name before they leave. The young man is struck and killed by a car a few minutes later. Death (Brad Pitt) appears to Bill in his home. Bill finally realizes that the young man is the personification of death. But death wants a holiday from his taxing, eternal responsibility of taking the souls of the dead to the after life. He chooses William to be his guide strikes a deal with Bill: as long as Bill shows him around the world of mortals, Bill will get to live a little longer. Temporarily doubting his own sanity, he finally agrees. He is introduced to William's family at a dinner at his house, when Susan arrives a few minutes late. She immediately recognizes the young man she met earlier that day, but the young man as Death is unfamiliar with the practices of mortal men and does not remember their original meeting. He acts awkwardly around her and she is confused and upset by his sudden odd behavior, very unlike his actions earlier that day. When the dinner guests ask Bill for the name of his "old friend", Bill hesitatingly introduces him as "Joe Black". The family is puzzled by the sudden appearance of an old friend of their father's that they have never met. Joe insists that Bill allow him to accompany him everyplace he goes, and Bill reluctantly agrees. Bill knows that these are his last days on earth, but despite his best efforts, he fails to keep events from rapidly spiraling out of control. A merger has been proposed to the Board of Bill's company, and Drew actively supports the transaction, but Bill as Chairman vetoes the proposal. Drew is very antagonistic towards this sudden, new "old friend" of Bill's, and is disrespectful and rude towards him. Susan grows disaffected of her relationship with Drew, beginning to see him for who he really is, and is somewhat enamored of the diffident, seductive, mysterious Joe Black. They have sex and she tells Joe that she loves him. Joe enjoys the experiences of his flesh, of human feelings and desires, and is in love with her as well. This complicates matters, as Bill doesn't want Death to become involved with his daughter, and tells Joe that their deal didn't include this. Death has little care for Will's feelings and declares his intention to take Susan with him for his own. As his last birthday arrives, Bill makes a last attempt to demonstrate to Joe the meaning of true love and all it encompasses, especially honesty and sacrifice. Bill's 65th birthday on his large estate is a wonderful, perfect event. Joe attends, pretending to be an Internal Revenue Service agent. Bill makes a last attempt to demonstrate to Joe the meaning of true love and all it encompasses especially honesty and sacrifice. Joe comes to understand that his love for Susan means he has to sacrifice his desire to take Susan with him and allow her to live her life, and he abandons his plans to take her. Unknown to Bill, Drew is conspiring with a enemy of BIll's who is bidding to acquire Parrish Communications. Drew capitalizes on Bill's strange behavior. He uses information inadvertently given to him by Bill's son-in-law Quince (Jeffrey Tambor) and convinces the board to vote Bill out as Chairman. He also persuades the Board to approve the merger which Bill had decided to oppose. Quince is devastated by what happens to Bill as all but one other member of the board vote him out. Joe, as the IRS agent, uses his knowledge of Drew's actions and intimidates Drew into resigning from the company and Board and to leaving Susan. Joe helps get Bill reinstated as Chairman of the Board. Bill devotes his remaining hours of life at the party to his daughters Allison and Susan. Joe says his last goodbye to Susan, admitting in veiled terms that he isn't what he appears to be. She senses something of the truth behind his words but is unable or unwilling to vocalize this realization. A fireworks show marks the end of the party and Joe escorts Bill to the edge of the garden and Susan follows them. Joe takes Bill over the bridge and the two disappear. Susan saw them walking away and runs up to the bridge. She is surprised when Joe reappears and walks back over the bridge. Death has left with Bill. Joe is now the young man Susan met at the coffee shop at the start of the movie. The young man, unaware of the events which had transpired from the time of his death until his return, talks to Susan. After a few moments, Susan suddenly realises that Joe is not the person whom she fell in love with. In sorrow, she realises that Joe (Death) has left and she is now talking with Joe (young man at coffee shop). She gazes past Joe's shoulder at the spot where she last saw Joe (Death) and Bill. Tearing, she says to Joe (young man), "I wish you could have known my father". She then asks him, "What do we do now?". He replies, "It'll come to us.". She nods and agrees. They hold hands and walk back towards the celebration of (Bill's) life.

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Meet Joe Black review

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Director Martin Brest took his inspiration for Meet Joe Black from the 1934 film Death Takes A Holiday. That was a comedy, but Brest needed a story that touched on something deeper. Hence, what was originally touted as a rom-com unfolds as a much more sincere drama.

Before its release, Meet Joe Black had already been condemned as the most expensive romance ever made (costing over $100 million) and that's for a movie with few special effects. Death may well be a very ordinary character with no obvious special powers. But Parrish, on the other hand, is a millionaire with a millionaire's lifestyle, wardrobe and lavish birthday party to attend. Every detail of his life is perfectly realised on screen (specially designed furniture, ornaments, clothes, etc), and to create a millionaire's lifestyle you evidently have to spend a millionaire's budget.

The money, however, isn't the issue: no one minds how much is spent if the end product is fantastic. The issue here is the running time. Meet Joe Black is not bad: it's superbly acted by the three leads, while the relationship between Anthony Hopkins (struggling to deal with the knowledge of his death) and Claire Forlani (who gradually begins to suspect the stranger's motive), is particularly well handled.

It looks sumptuous too, bathed in autumn colours as light and life creep into Death's existence. And, to top it off, this morbid love story also has a compelling central storyline, as well as a subplot about the fate of Parrish's media empire. But what it has more than anything else is a bum-numbing three-hour running time. With its epic nature, Titanic got away with it. Meet Joe Black does not.

At the beginning, Parrish delivers a long speech about the nature of life and love. His distracted daughter looks at him and says: "Give it to me again, but the short version." Someone should have said that to Brest. He could have cut a few speeches. He could have lost a very uncomfortable sex scene between Joe Black and Susan (would they make Death- babies?) He should certainly have sliced out some uneven playing from the support, who seem to think they're in a different kind of movie to the central protagonists. These elements wouldn't have been missed. We could also have gone without Pitt's astonishing Jamaican accent, used for dramatic effect when a Caribbean woman recognises Joe Black for what he is. Not to mention the very unconvincing explanation of how, although he's in one place, he can still kill people all over the world. The audience would have survived.

The best bits of Meet Joe Black are contained in the first half-hour and the last, and are worthwhile. The beginning is intriguing, the end tearful, especially as Susan wordlessly begins to realise the fate of her father. To those who have lost a relative recently, these scenes in particular are teary and painful. But they would have had so much more impact without a thumb-twiddling, seat-shifting middle-section.

Not bad, just not as good as it could have been had the editor been allowed to hack an hour or so off the running time. Thankfully, however, the classy performances from Pitt, Forlani and Hopkins make Meet Joe Black worthwhile. But only just.

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine.

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“Meet Joe Black” is a movie about a rich man trying to negotiate the terms of his own death. It is a movie about a woman who falls in love with a concept. And it is a meditation on the screen presence of Brad Pitt . That there is also time for scenes about sibling rivalry and a corporate takeover is not necessarily a good thing. The movie contains elements that make it very good, and a lot of other elements besides. Less is more.

As the movie opens, a millionaire named William Parrish ( Anthony Hopkins ) is pounded by a heart attack, the soundtrack using low bass chords to assault the audience. He hears a voice--his own--in his head. On the brink of his 65th birthday, he senses that death is near. He tells his beloved younger daughter Susan ( Claire Forlani ) that he likes her fiance but doesn't sense that she truly loves him: “Stay open. Lightning could strike.” It does. A few hours later, in a coffee shop, she meets a stranger (Brad Pitt). They talk and flirt. He says all the right things. Lightning makes, at the very least, a near miss. They confess they really like each other. They part. He is killed. That night at dinner, she is startled to find him among her father's guests. The body of the young man is now occupied by Death, who has come to inform Parrish that his end is near.

He does not recognize Susan. That's odd. Isn't Death an emissary from God? Shouldn't he know these things? He's been around a long time (one imagines him breaking the bad news to amoebas). This Death doesn't even know what peanut butter tastes like, or how to kiss. A job like that, you want a more experienced man.

No matter. We accept the premise. We're distracted, anyway, by the way Brad Pitt plays the role. As both the young man in the coffee shop and as “Joe Black” (the name given him by Parrish), he is intensely aware of himself--too aware. Pitt is a fine actor, but this performance is a miscalculation. Meryl Streep once said that an experienced actor knows that the words “I love you” are really a question. Pitt plays them as a compliment to himself. There is no chemistry between Joe Black and Susan because both parties are focused on him.

That at least leads to the novelty of a rare movie love scene where the camera is focused on the man's face, not the woman's. Actresses have become skilled over the years at faking orgasms on camera, usually with copious cries of delight and sobs of passion. (As they're buffeted by their competent male lovers, I am sometimes reminded of a teenager making the cheerleader team, crossed with a new war widow.) A male actor would have to be very brave to reveal such loss of control, and Pitt's does not cry out. His orgasm plays in slow motion across his face like a person who is thinking, this is way better than peanut butter.

I was not, in short, sold on the relationship between Susan and Joe. She spends most of the movie puzzling about a very odd man who briefly made her heart feel gooey. There is no person there for her, just the idea of perfect love. Joe Black is presented as a being who is not familiar with occupying a human body or doing human things. One wonders--is this the first time Death has tried this approach? Parrish strikes a deal with him (he won't die as long as he can keep Joe interested and teach him new things) and takes him everywhere with him, including board meetings, where Joe's response to most situations is total silence, while looking like the cat that ate the mouse.

The Parrish character, and Anthony Hopkins' performance, are entirely different matters. Hopkins invests the dying millionaire with intelligence and acceptance, and he talks wonderfully well. “Meet Joe Black” consists largely of conversations, which are well-written and do not seem false or forced as long as Parrish is involved in them. His key business relationships are with the snaky Drew ( Jake Weber ), whom Susan dumps for Joe, and with the avuncular Quince ( Jeffrey Tambor ), his loyal but bumbling son-in-law. Quince is married to Allison ( Marcia Gay Harden ), who knows Susan is her father's favorite but can live with that because Parrish is such a swell guy. (He's ethical, sensitive, and beloved--the first movie rich man who could at least squeeze his head and shoulders through the eye of the needle.) What's fascinating about Parrish is that he handles death as he has handled everything else. He makes a realistic assessment of his chances, sees what advantages he can extract, negotiates for the best possible terms and gracefully accepts the inevitable. There are times when he handles his talks with Death so surely that you wish Heaven had sent a more articulate negotiator.

The movie's ending takes too long. There are farewells, reflections, confessions, reassurances, reconciliations, partings and surprises. Joe Black begins to get on our nerves with his knack for saying things that are technically true, but incomplete and misleading. The film would play better if he didn't always have to talk in epigrams. Even at the very end, when a line or two of direct dialogue would have cleared the air, he's still talking in acrostic clues.

Still, there's so much that's fine in this movie, directed by Martin Brest (“ Scent of a Woman ”). Claire Forlani has a touching vulnerability as she negotiates the strange terms of her love. Marcia Gay Harden plays a wise, grownup scene with Parrish, as a loving daughter who knows she isn't the favorite. Jeffrey Tambor's performance is crucial; through his eyes, we understand what a good man Parrish is. And Anthony Hopkins inhabits a story that tends toward quicksand and finds dry land. You sense a little of his “ Nixon ” here: a man who can use anger like a scalpel, while still standing back to monitor the result.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Film credits.

Meet Joe Black (1998)

Rated PG-13 For An Accident Scene, Some Sexuality and Brief Strong Language

174 minutes

Jake Weber as Drew

Anthony Hopkins as William Parrish

Brad Pitt as Joe Black

Claire Forlani as Susan Parrish

Jeffrey Tambor as Quince

Marcia Gay Harden as Allison

Directed by

Martin Brest

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Meet Joe Black movie review & film summary (1998)
Martin Brest. "Meet Joe Black" is a movie about a rich man trying to negotiate the terms of his own death. It is a movie about a woman who falls in love with a concept. And it is a meditation on the screen presence of Brad Pitt. That there is also time for scenes about sibling rivalry and a corporate takeover is not necessarily a good thing.
Meet Joe Black
Jan 17, 2024 Full Review Ade Adeniji AdeAdeniji.com Meet Joe Black was a box office flub back in the late 1990s. But the three hour fantasy-romance movie isn't all bad and like other cult ...
Meet Joe Black
Meet Joe Black was a box office flub back in the late 1990s. But the three hour fantasy-romance movie isn't all bad and like other cult classics like The Room, is so confidently ridiculous at ...
Meet Joe Black (1998)
Enter "Joe Black" (Brad Pitt), a handsome, but enigmatic, young man with an unusual agenda. This is a thought-provoking movie about mortality and emotional separation. It will appeal to viewers with a reflective and philosophical nature. But the film also has humor, which keeps it from being grim. The pace is slow.
Meet Joe Black (1998)
Meet Joe Black: Directed by Martin Brest. With Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Claire Forlani, Jake Weber. Death, who takes the form of a young man killed in an accident, asks a media mogul to act as his guide to teach him about life on Earth and, in the process, he falls in love with the mogul's daughter.
Meet Joe Black
Meet Joe Black is a 1998 American romantic fantasy mystery film directed ... Taking in an additional $98,321,000, the movie grossed a worldwide total of $142,940,100. As Meet Joe Black was one of the few ... Meet Joe Black received mixed reviews from critics, with most complimenting the performances but criticizing the film's three-hour ...
Meet Joe Black
Bill Parrish (Hopkins) has it all -- success, wealth, and power. Days before his 65th birthday he receives a visit from a mysterious stranger, Joe Black (Pitt), who soon reveals himself as Death. In exchange for extra time, Bill agrees to serve as Joe's earthly guide. But will he regret his choice when Joe unexpectedly falls in love with Bill's beautiful daughter Susan (Forlani). (Universal ...
Meet Joe Black
In half the time it takes to "Meet Joe Black," many good films chart an entire life story. By contrast, this thoroughly over-elaborated whimsy dawdles in delineating one man's confrontation with ...
Meet Joe Black Review
Original Title: Meet Joe Black. Tipping its good looking head to a brace of current Hollywood vogues — remaking a classic (of sorts) and clocking in almost at a swollen three hours - Martin ...
The Ending Of Meet Joe Black Explained
After escorting Bill to the next life, the young man formerly known as Joe Black re-emerges, looking confused and disheveled. He finds Susan, and recognizes her as the beautiful woman he bought a ...
Meet Joe Black
In Meet Joe Black, only Bill faces Death head-on, since the other major characters don't know who Joe is. The film has been vaunted as a romance, much like the 1934 Fredric March film Death ...
Meet Joe Black (1998): A Minimalist, Philosophical Film About Life and
Meet Joe Black is an interesting romantic drama with a supernatural twist and was inspired by Mitchell Leisen's 1934 film Death Takes a Holiday.Directed by Martin Brest, Meet Joe Black was his follow up after winning a Golden Globe for Scent of a Woman.Reuniting Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins, the film also stars Claire Forlani and Marcia Gay Harden.
'Meet Joe Black': When Death Comes to Call, Serve Peanut Butter
FILM REVIEW 'Meet Joe Black': When Death Comes to Call, Serve Peanut Butter. Related Articles; Current Film. Video. Selected Scenes and Trailer From the Film. Forum. Join a Discussion on Film. By JANET MASLIN. h, to die in a sugar-coated Hollywood movie while the spiritual schmaltz craze is under way! You look your best. You say wise things.
Meet Joe Black Movie Review
Our review: Parents say ( 2 ): Kids say ( 1 ): A gimmicky premise is made even worse by iffy acting, hilariously bad dialogue, and a slow pace. Not even the acting chops of Anthony Hopkins can rescue Meet Joe Black, a movie that lumbers along back and forth between some sort of romantic dramedy and reflections on Life and Death and What Does It ...
Movie Review of 'Meet Joe Black' (1998)
1998's Meet Joe Black is not everyone's cup of tea.A polarising feature, it underperformed at the box office, earning mixed reviews before ultimately fading into obscurity. Some may call the film plodding due to its three-hour length, while others might find it hokey or cliché, but, in the eyes of this reviewer, the experience of Meet Joe Black is enrapturing.
Meet Joe Black
A movie review by James Berardinelli. Meet Joe Black has the dubious distinction of being the longest film to date of 1998. It is also one of the most tedious and bombastic. At a hair under three hours, it's shorter than James Cameron's Titanic, yet, when it comes to pace, Joe Black is glacial. Director Martin Brest, who helmed the enjoyable ...
Meet Joe Black (1998)
Innocent, enigmatic, and often hilarious, Joe disrupts William's world of privilege and corporate intrigue. But when he falls for William's beautiful daughter, Susan (Claire Forlani), Joe threatens to change the rules. Now William must fight not for his future, but for those he loves in this bittersweet tale of life and death.
Dying for it
The movie lasted a mere 78 minutes, less than half the length of the remake, which might well have been called Death Takes a Lengthy Sabbatical. In Meet Joe Black, the emphasis shifts from the ...
FILM REVIEW; When Death Comes to Call, Serve Peanut Butter
''Meet Joe Black'' is a latter-day version of ''Death Takes a Holiday,'' the play that was filmed in 1934 with Fredric March and had some nicely fanciful notions of what might happen if Death gave ...
Meet Joe Black review
Before its release, Meet Joe Black had already been condemned as the most expensive romance ever made (costing over $100 million) and that's for a movie with few special effects. Death may well be ...
MEET JOE BLACK
MEET JOE BLACK is a tailor-made box office vehicle, with a good-looking cast, great-looking production values and lots of heart. Even so, many people may not buy the love affair between Susan and Death as Joe Black. The movie also does not explain Death's origin. MEET JOE BLACK contains an overly violent traffic accident, foul language and one ...
Meet Joe Black
Meet Joe Black. 1998, R, 174 min. Directed by Martin Brest. Starring David S. Howard, Jeffrey Tambor, Marcia Gay Harden, Jake Weber, Claire Forlani, Anthony Hopkins, Brad Pitt. A loose retelling ...
Meet Joe Black movie review & film summary (1998)
Martin Brest. "Meet Joe Black" is a movie about a rich man trying to negotiate the terms of his own death. It is a movie about a woman who falls in love with a concept. And it is a meditation on the screen presence of Brad Pitt. That there is also time for scenes about sibling rivalry and a corporate takeover is not necessarily a good thing.
'Dark Matter' review: Joel Edgerton stars in Blake Crouch's Apple
"Dark Matter" takes another plunge into the madness of multiverses, operating on a more cerebral and down-to-earth level than the superhero epics that have explored it, from the "Doctor ...

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Meet Joe Black (1998): A Minimalist, Philosophical Film About Life and Love

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