Meet Joe Black (1998)
CREDIT: PHILLIP V. CARUSO
Mixed critical fanfare and harsh criticism of its three-hour-plus runtime, the 1998 Meet Joe Black was a disappointing picture.
In the verbose and uninvolving Meet Joe Black, Brad Pitt plays death (yes, you read it right), a character operating under the pseudonym of “Joe Black.”
It is revealed that he is the human embodiment of death, temporarily perusing Earth as he prepares to take media mogul William Parrish (Anthony Hopkins, miscast) to the other side.
A handsome grim reaper, Pitt first appears as a quick-witted young professional who enchants Susan (Claire Forlani) — who happens to be the mogul’s daughter— in a diner before they bid farewell.
Soon a tragic accident replaces the lawyer’s soul with the spirit of death, and a confusing love story ensues–but to little effect.
Pitt’s performance is incoherent, due to the preposterous plot.
New to the human form, death becomes obsessed with peanut butter? He marvels at the wheels on an office chair and speaks with no filter.
Pretentious to a fault, Meet Joe Black means to say something significant about life, love, loss and mortality–the fleeting nature of time, the desire to live life as long as possible when its sanctity is threatened.