It is not a perfect film. It is too long. The subplot involving a hostile takeover is a snooze. But the core trio—Hopkins, Forlani, and especially Pitt’s wide-eyed reaper—creates a spell that breaks cynicism.
Don’t watch it for the plot. Watch it for the feeling. And have the peanut butter ready. Conoce a Joe Black
And then comes the twist: Death releases Susan. He lets her live, walking away into the night while the real, living stranger whose body he borrowed—the young man from the café—wakes up, dazed, and wanders into Susan’s life to start the romance for real. It is a deus ex machina of pure sentimentality, and it works. It is not a perfect film
Why? Because Meet Joe Black isn't really about a high-powered businessman or a whirlwind romance. It is a surprisingly tender, achingly slow meditation on what it means to say goodbye. And have the peanut butter ready
Brad Pitt gives one of the strangest performances of his career. As Joe Black, he is not playing a man; he is playing an entity trying on humanity like an itchy wool suit. He walks stiffly, tilts his head like a confused bird, and speaks with a deliberate, halting cadence. He discovers the joy of peanut butter with the wide-eyed wonder of a newborn.
Directed by Martin Brest ( Beverly Hills Cop , Scent of a Woman ), the film follows Bill Parrish (Anthony Hopkins), a titan of industry who has built an empire but is running out of time. On the eve of his 65th birthday, he begins hearing a mysterious voice. That voice belongs to Death, who has come to take him.
Meet Joe Black is a film about dying that makes you feel gloriously, painfully alive.