I wonder if any of the screenwriters (and there were quite a few, as the script passed through many hands) for Martin Brest’s 1998 film ‘Meet Joe Black‘ ever read Mihai Eminescu’s Luceafărul (The Evening Star). Most likely not, given that the film was inspired by an earlier American production from 1934, which in turn adapted a 1924 Italian play titled ‘Death Takes a Holiday‘ for the screen. However, the film’s concept is far older, rooted in the mythology and folklore of many cultures—sources from which the Romanian poet also drew inspiration: the impossible love between mortals and gods, angels, or other entities inhabiting the realms of the immortal. Beyond Eminescu’s poem, the film reminded me of Wim Wenders’ 1987 movie Wings of Desire (Der Himmel über Berlin). In both instances, angels—or Death (or perhaps the Angel of Death, in this case)—attempt to communicate with humans and understand their experiences; yet, when they succeed too well, the impossibility of sharing feelings or uniting destinies becomes painfully apparent. The immortals are condemned to solitude. It is an intriguing theme—captivating even for someone like me who is not a fan of stories or films about angels. The issue with ‘Meet Joe Black‘ is that the approach taken by the screenwriters and director Martin Brest feels closer to his previous major success, Scent of a Woman, than to Wenders’ magnificent film. And in this case, that approach doesn’t quite work.
Anthony Hopkins plays William Parrish, a man who appears to be at the pinnacle of his glory and power. He is about to turn 65, and a grand birthday celebration is being organized for him at his estate on the banks of the Hudson River. Parrish has managed to build a media empire while preserving its integrity and independence, and he has two daughters whom he loves dearly and who love him back just as much. Everything in his life seems perfect, yet Death is lurking, threatening to cut it all short. A heart attack is held at bay for a time because Death wishes to take a brief vacation to understand and experience human emotions, and he chooses Parrish specifically to be his guide. Needing a physical form, he steps into the body of a charming, god-like handsome young man. Who can be better for the role than Brad Pitt? The actor was 35 at the time, though, as is almost always the case on screen, he looks much younger. This role, however, marks the beginning of a shift in his career toward characters who harbor shadows and trauma beneath a veneer of physical perfection. For the most part, I believe Pitt succeeds in delivering what the role and the director require, yet he faces two challenges. The screenplay is overly wordy; the character speaks too much, repeating himself excessively. The other problem is his co-star. The role of Parrish’s younger daughter is played by Claire Forlani, an actress with a limited expressive range who falls far short of the rest of the cast’s caliber and fails to generate any believable chemistry with Brad.
Anthony Hopkins dominates the film, delivering yet another complex, compelling, and deeply human performance. His confrontation with the fleeting nature of existence and the inevitability of the end is both convincing and moving. Brad Pitt almost pulls it off. He is delightful in the scenes where he gets to know his borrowed body and discovers the pleasures of the flesh, both small and great. There is also a very special love scene where—unlike many others of its kind—the camera focuses more on the man; it is perhaps one of the most interesting scenes of Brad Pitt’s career. However, ‘Meet Joe Black‘ suffers from excessive length and repetition, melodramatic dialogue, and visual effects that are both repetitive and drawn-out. A three-hour runtime is not entirely unusual these days, yet even nearly three decades after its release, the film feels long—and, more to the point, dragged out. It must have seemed even longer to audiences back in 1998. The saving grace is the chance to watch Anthony Hopkins at the peak of his acting prowess and Brad Pitt at the peak of his physical beauty.