3. Meet Joe Black
Meet Joe Black is held back by a single thing its long. Bogglingly long. The glacial pace of the film, coupled with the restrictions of its genre a hybrid of rom-com and opulent costume drama alienated many, perhaps understandably so. Nobody seemed to be in a rush to do anything, least of all leading-man Brad Pitt, whose dead-pan delivery (at odds with his then-boyish good looks) served only to reconfirm what audiences suspected, that this was a boring film, a long hard slog rather than an enjoyable watch. Fair enough, theyre entitled to their opinion. However, I feel it can be argued that
Meet Joe Black is one of the most misunderstood films in the history of Holywood. Its actually great, and its all down to the performances of the actors. When a film is mostly set around human drama (which but for its supernatural premise,
Meet Joe Black is), the very least it requires is the characters it exposits be interesting enough to make us care about them. If not, things get very bad very quickly; without a sufficient in-road into whats unfolding on-screen, the audience can be left cold, held at a distance. So its to the casts great credit they manage to flesh out characters who couldve easily tumbled into dullness, parody or stereotype, and instead create engaging, varied characters. Pitt plays an incarnation of Death, having been possessed by the otherworldly force early on in possibly one of the most sudden (and retrospectively hilarious) death scenes ever put on film. What this represents is an incredibly brave curve-ball on behalf of the writers and director. When Pitt is first introduced, hes just a young, cocky guy, but the film immediately drops this façade to let him adopt the persona of Death. A hard task for any actor to pull off, never mind one as fresh-faced as Pitt was here. Hes even got surfer-blond hair, for gods sake. Yet both the actor and the script play this contrast to perfection. The idea of Death taking his place on Earth is supposed to be a jarring one, and its made even more so when its inhabiting something so inoffensive and benign as a young, classically good-looking guy. He just clearly doesnt look like death, and this makes his ethereal presence all the more strange. He simply contradicts himself, blending an impossible omniscience with child-like infatuation for Parrishs daughter, Susan. He doesnt seem to belong to this time, or any time. Its the right way to play such as character, making for an incredible performance. Pitts turn is equally matched by Anthony Hopkins as Elliot Parrish, a grounded newspaper magnate who emanates decency from every fibre of his being. As befitting his status as one of the greatest actors ever, Hopkins gives a performance positively brimming in pathos and charm, forlornly bonding with his family whilst staring down his on-coming end, which has decided to take human form and sit down to dinner with him. And has sex with his daughter. The actor imbues his portrayal with his glorious voice the scene where Death takes on Parrishs own form behind some frosted glass , and proceeds to rattle off an incredible speech in Hopkins dulcet tones is nothing short of spine-tingling, and worth the price of admission alone. If you havent seen it, I must insist you do its spell-binding, hair-on-end stuff. These performances, set against a backdrop of corporate intrigue and the moneyed socialite life, really stand out, even among such an excellent supporting cast featuring greats like Jeffrey Tambor and Marcia Gay Harden. It all culminates in an amazingly bittersweet conclusion, which thanks to the 178 minutes weve spent in the company of these characters, really packs emotional heft. Its only fair for a film which for much of its runtime heroically awkward sex scene aside is simply wonderful.