Jeffrey Huston's "Believe Me" URL: http://www.impactprod.org/people/huston
Believe Me's "Meet Joe Black" Review (complete with pictures) URL: http://www.impactprod.org/people/huston/meetjb.htm
MEET JOE BLACK
*1/2
Rated PG-13 (for language, sexual content, and a violent death)
Joe Black: Brad Pitt William Parrish: Anthony Hopkins Susan Parrish: Claire Forlani Quince: Jeffrey Tambor Drew: Jake Weber Allison: Marcia Gay Harden
Produced and Directed by Martin Brest. Screenplay by Ron Osborn, Jeff Reno, Kevin Wade and Bo Goldman. Distributed by Universal Pictures. Running time: 176 minutes. Release date: November 13, 1998.
Why is it that whenever Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins team up in a movie, the film ends up being a saccharine Harlequin romance novel? It sounds weird, doesn't it? Granted, the characters that Pitt and Hopkins play are never romantically linked (that would be too weird). But for some strange reason, this trait has been a core aspect of their two collaborations.
"Legends of the Fall" was nothing more than a tawdry, melodramatic paperback romance in film form. Now comes "Meet Joe Black", a completely unrealistic romantic fantasy that tries to manipulate our emotions as opposed to actually challenging them.
Loosely based on the Fredric March classic "Death Takes A Holiday", "Meet Joe Black" has a unique premise. Corporate mogul William Parrish (Anthony Hopkins) is about to celebrate his 65th birthday. But a couple of days prior to the elegant bash being thrown by his eldest daughter, Parrish is visited by none other than Death himself (Brad Pitt). Using the body of a recently deceased man, Death wishes to take a break from his normal duties and be given a tour of life on earth. After being guided by Parrish for a brief time, Death will take him into the afterlife after his birthday celebration.
Assuming the name Joe Black, Death becomes Parrish's shadow, following him into virtually every area of his life. But conveniently, he takes enough breaks from this partnership to strike up a love affair with Parrish's forlorn youngest daughter Susan (Claire Forlani). It is a romance complete lacking in chemistry or motivation as they fall in love almost instantaneously without even knowing anything about each other. They just "connect". This may appeal to an idealistic teenager, but for the average adult it may prove unsatisfying to see a woman fall in love with a guy whose greatest passion is peanut butter. If the reasoning is "But it's Brad Pitt!", then that is a truly shallow and meaningless reason indeed.
Running at just a hair under three hours, "Meet Joe Black" long overstays its welcome. Scenes go on far past the point of which they should end. Schmaltzy lingering looks and lengthy dramatic pauses are present in virtually every scene. This is such a quiet film, one where you could hear a pin drop about every two minutes. The pacing plods along ever so slowly, unlike any film that I've ever seen before. You could trim about a half-an-hour off of the film's length by simply making the dialogue and action tighter. But director Martin Brest wallows in pregnant pauses, ones that suck the life out of the story, the characters, and eventually the viewer.
I mean, how many times do we have to cut back and forth between two characters "reacting" to one another before another word is eventually said? Must they deeply contemplate everything that they say? This is easily Brest' s worst film. If you want to see his best, rent the engaging and powerful "Scent of a Woman".
The script wants so badly to be about ideas. It yearns to provoke thought about death, life, and what we should value. But for the most part we are bludgeoned with speech after speech that simply waxes poetic about life and love. These diatribes are based in the ideal, but are rarely tested by issues of reality. Because of this, much of the film comes off as preachy instead of challenging.
Most of this enlightenment is communicated through Death of course, or at least when it's convenient for him to do so. Joe Black is a contradictory enigma who is all-knowing and wise in one scene, then simple and naïve the next. In this film, Death is the most tender and sensitive entity that one could imagine. This New Age characterization of Death as simply being misunderstood may be appealing to some, but I had a hard time believing that the Grim Reaper didn't have a dark side.
Most of the performances are annoying and one-dimensional. As Death, Brad Pitt is uncharismatic and stilted. Early on there is a scene where he discovers the unique taste of peanut butter. According to his dialogue, he seems to be quite taken with it. But his inappropriate understated manner simply says, "Huh, that's nice." For peanut butter being something that he can't seem to get enough of, he emotes little (if any) excitement about it.
This example is characteristic of Pitt's entire performance. It makes sense for him to be in this zombie-like trance at the beginning. But to see no change in his emotional state for the entire film simply doesn't make sense. He says that his experiences are changing him, but they seem to have no affect on his countenance or personality. Brad Pitt has yet to live up to the promise that was shown in 1995 when he was nominated for his supporting turn in "12 Monkeys", as well as delivering the best performance of his career as the naïve police detective in "Seven".
Claire Forlani is unimpressive in her debut as a leading ingenue. If she has range as an actress, you certainly don't see it here. Like Pitt's characterization, Forlani's performance of Susan is a one-note portrayal that stays the same from beginning to end. This character reeks of pandering to a female audience. Susan is shy and vulnerable, prone to cry at the drop of a hat. She is a soft-spoken waif just waiting to be swept off of her feet. Forlani never balances Susan's vulnerability with any sense of strength, unintentionally creating a character that comes off as weak and borderline co-dependent.
One look from Pitt's blue eyes (that at times hide behind his golden bangs) and she's a goner. This may make some women swoon, but it certainly does not equate substance or depth in the characterization of Susan Parrish.
The first scene in which she meets Pitt's character is embarrassingly "scripted". This good-looking blonde just happens to hit on her and, in the period of five minutes, expresses his innermost feelings about how love should be. This is, I am led to believe, every young woman's dream. Too bad it's something that will never happen. The best kind of fantasy has some basis of reality because it gives the illusion that the fantasy might actually be possible. But even though this fantasy is set in reality, it has no basis in it.
Jake Weber is burdened with the duty of playing the bad guy. As Drew, Weber plays the young hotshot climbing the corporate ladder. The story begins with him having both William Parrish's ear as well as the affections of his daughter. But as the film progresses, we see him for the cut-throat selfish tycoon that he really is. If William Parrish is supposed to be such a shrewd businessman, how does a jerk like Drew pull the wool over his eyes for so long? Characters like Drew are formulaic plot devices that create inconsistencies in the characters that choose to associate with them. There isn't a shred of humanity in Drew; he is simply an unscrupulous evil character who has no business being in a film that aspires to be mature.
The picture is visually lush in both its art direction and cinematography, but at times too lush. The love scene in particular is overly beautified as it looks like a perfume or lingerie commercial. The soft golden light shines off of our two lovers as they strike sensual poses for the camera. These constructed shots belong in a magazine ad or on a billboard, but are out of place in a dramatic film.
Thomas Newman's music score is beautiful, albeit excessive. Particularly at the films end when we are assaulted with multiple orchestral crescendos that are supposed to really make us cry. This music bombards us as characters either contemplate or cry. Then a short exchange occurs between two people, immediately followed by more sweeping woodwinds and strings. Of the many adjectives one could use to describe the use of music in "Meet Joe Black", subtlety isn't one of them.
In a film so tediously boring, Anthony Hopkins provides the one jolt of life. His William Parrish seems to be the only character with emotional levels. At times he can be withdrawn and mysterious, but he also has his moments of frustration and explosive anger.
He is also the only character that actually expresses challenging ideas. Just when I was about to throw-up after yet another feel-good platitude, Parrish chimed in with a statement that actually made me think. In a film with few bright spots, Hopkins's performance stands out as the brightest.
The other actor worthy of praise is Jeffrey Tambor (TV's "The Larry Sanders Show") who plays Quince, William's son-in-law and business partner. Quince is gentle and loyal, but never weak. Though not a person who is prone to be confrontational, Quince never lacks conviction. Tambor is to be credited for giving more depth to his character than was provided him by the script.
This film fails in one key area. Until the very end, the only person who knows of Joe Black's true identity is William Parrish. As a result, the film sidesteps a conflict that could have been truly dramatic and intriguing. Ponder for a moment with me, if you will. Imagine if, say, at the beginning of the film's final hour, Susan discovers that Joe is Death. Think of the potential complication that this would pose. The man she loves is the same man who has come to take her father away from her. This would have created a very challenging personal struggle for all three characters involved. Instead, by keeping Joe's identity hidden, Susan is not challenged in any way, leaving us to sappy expressions of love and romance that have no basis of substance or motivation.
"Meet Joe Black" wants to have its cake and eat it to. It takes the heavy and complicated subject of death and tells a fable where virtually every plot line (save one crucial story element) is tied up ever so nicely with the ribbon of audience satisfaction. The film gives us virtually everything we "want". William Parrish and Joe Black are the only ones who know that he is about to die. But somehow, virtually every character has a moment with Parrish that ends up being a deathbed confessional and expression of love. The only problem is that they have no idea he is on his deathbed. So why, all of a sudden, do they finally feel the need to pour out their soul? I can believe it coming from Parrish, he knows what's about to happen. But from everyone else it seems horribly forced. These people are living on an exhalted emotional and spiritual plain the likes of which I have never seen.
The film doesn't have the courage to challenge us with the thought that, if we're not careful, those that we love may pass on before we have the chance of expressing all that we really feel. Had Brest not been so concerned with making us happy, he would have been more successful in communicating the themes that he was hoping to address. But instead of being given something to think about, we are appeased with the relief that everything worked out in the end. When you choose to tackle the reality of death in a story, I think you cheat the subject matter by having everything end so conveniently.
"Meet Joe Black" may very well be the oddest film released in 1998. It is a film that is guilty of (what I consider to be) virtually every artistic crime known to cinema. And yet for some truly odd reason, for as bloated and indulgent as Martin Brest's film is, I never found myself losing interest. Don't get me wrong; aside from Hopkins and Tambor, my interest wasn't sustained because the film was good. I think what kept me in it was how uniquely awful it was. I've never seen bad filmmaking quite like this before. Dare I say that Meet Joe Black, in regards to bad filmmaking, is revolutionary. I found a perverse entertainment in discovering brand new ways to make a film bad. For me, this may be a singular appeasement. But for the public at large, you're best to steer clear of this boring mess.
The thoughts and opinions of Believe Me are expressly Jeff Huston's and not necessarily shared by Impact Productions [Believe Me] [Impact Productions] [Comments -- "What do you think?"]
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews