Meet Joe Black
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| Meet Joe Black | |
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 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Martin Brest Alan Smithee |
| Produced by | Martin Brest |
| Written by | Bo Goldman |
| Starring | Brad Pitt Anthony Hopkins Claire Forlani Jake Weber Marcia Gay Harden Jeffrey Tambor |
| Music by | Thomas Newman |
| Cinematography | Emmanuel Lubezki |
| Editing by | Joe Hutshing Michael Tronick |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | November 13, 1998 |
| Running time | Original cut 181 min. Alan Smithee cut 129 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $90 million |
| Gross revenue | $142,940,100 |
| Preceded by | Death Takes a Holiday (remake) |
| Official website | |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Meet Joe Black is a 1998 remake of the 1934 film, Death Takes a Holiday, originally having been remade in 1971 under the same name as the original. Meet Joe Black stars Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, and Claire Forlani. It was directed by Martin Brest.
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[edit] Plot
Meet Joe Black is the story of Death taking a break from his usual duties and inhabiting the body of a recently deceased young man in order to learn what it is like to be human. It is a slow-paced movie that draws on subtle symmetries and aims to express the one man's thoughts on life and wishes for his family, brought on by a physical encounter with his own mortality - Death him (or it) self.
The film covers three main storylines; a naive Angel of Death's (Brad Pitt) first experiences with simple pleasures (such as peanut butter), Death's chosen guide (Hopkins) attempting to manage his business based on the principles on which he founded it while coming to terms with his own mortality, and a romance between "Joe Black" and a young woman, Susan, his guide's daughter (Claire Forlani). The movie opens with an introduction to Bill Parrish (Anthony Hopkins). Bill is facing his 65th birthday party and he sees fewer days in front than behind. Indeed, he is approached in his home and work by what he thinks are hallucinations - Death himself has come with the intention of escorting him to the afterlife as part of Death's duties.
Bill, touched by his dream-like brush with mortality, expresses his desire for his daughter, Susan, to live out a life with passion. She is considering marriage but Parrish is not that impressed by her relationship. When she asks for the "plain English" version of his impassioned speech, he simply says, "Stay open. Who knows? Lightning could strike!"
Shortly after hearing her dad's advice, Susan meets a vibrant young man who had just moved into the city in a coffee shop. They instantly click, in fact, he seems so perfect for her that it scares her; he also chooses to use the words "lightning may strike." Immediately after this encounter, turning the corner from Susan, the young man is struck in a dramatic car accident & taken to a local New York City hospital. Death returns to Bill's home in the form of the young man, explaining that his impassioned speech has piqued his interest after an eternity of boredom. Thanks to Bill's "competence, experience and wisdom", Death has chosen him and tells Bill that in return for extra time, Bill shall be his guide on Earth. In return Bill will "get time, minutes, days, weeks. Let's not get encumbered by detail... what matters is that I stay interested".
Death places himself at Bill's right hand, taking the persona of 'Joe', and establishing his place in Bill's home and work, instructing Bill to reveal his identity to nobody. This proves complicated as the Board of Directors of Bill's media empire are urging for a union with a larger company, under the instigation of Susan's fiancé, Drew (Jake Weber). After a tense Board meeting where Bill advises the Board against the merger, Joe ventures out into the city to explore. He visits the hospital where Susan works as a doctor to see her and in doing so, observes the process of Death that he isn't usually involved with - the human aspect of mortality. He is recognized by a dying patient, who tells him she is in pain. She begged him to take her to that "next place", to ease her pain. Death told the patient to close her eyes and he reached out to touch her, who visibly relaxed, being granted a temporary reprieve, and Death told her, "Soon.."
He returns to visit Bill, who describes his late wife and how he felt that he couldn't live on without her after her death. He says to Joe that he had probably heard this "a trillion times before," to which Joe responds, "...and more". Their conversation is interrupted by Drew who is bothered by the reversal of Bill's decision of the merger. Bill becomes angry at the prospect of the company that he built becoming less than he planned, believing that a man should leave something of integrity in his passing; Joe cautions "Easy, Bill; You'll give yourself a heart attack and ruin my vacation."
Realizing that Joe could end his delay at any time, Bill arranges for dinner with his family two nights in a row, raising concerns. Bill attempts a broken and awkward speech about family, after which he invites them all back for dinner again the next night. Touched by his feelings, they all agree, with one exception. Drew is angered by this mysterious stranger who appears to have taken the ear of Bill Parrish and disrupted his merger plans. He is even more rankled by the increasing closeness between Susan and Joe. After a number of snide comments aimed at Joe over dinner, Drew confronts Susan about her feelings for Joe, which ends in him questioning their relationship.
After a flirtatious conversation with Joe, who has overheard the argument with Drew, Susan is warned by Bill not to get too close to this mysterious stranger. Meanwhile, the next day, Drew has gathered the board of the company, advising them that Parrish has been unconditionally influenced by "Mr. Joe Black," and tells them the offer from the rival company has been sweetened - and will be accepted with or without Parrish as Chairman.
After a scene where Parrish is reminded of the virtue of family when he distresses his other daughter, Allison (Marcia Gay Harden), who is trying to organize Bill's sixty-fifth birthday party, he answers the door to Drew, who starkly threatens that the Board will see him removed over the acceptance of the merger. He leaves, with Susan following, but not before angrily announcing to her that this is "the end of my chapter with the Parrishes. And the end began with this guy," indicating Joe, who has also followed. After a tense and crude standoff, Drew breaks off their relationship, leaving Susan and Joe alone. The pair become romantically close and after kissing her, Joe realizes that he has reached a pivotal moment with this mortal woman. They are interrupted by Bill, who shows understandable concern for his daughter.
The following morning, Parrish is confronted by Drew and the Board of Directors, who reiterate their intentions regarding the merger. After Bill's emphatic refusal to accept both the merger and the Board's request for the identity of Joe, they vote to make Bill "Chairman Emeritus", powerless and dethroned. After the meeting, it is revealed that Drew was in collaboration with the rival company from the start, with the intention of seizing power and then selling off Parrish Communications for a huge profit.
Bill and Joe return home, where Bill, disheartened, goes for a nap. Joe comes across Susan and after an awkward moment, they make love. In the heat of the moment, Joe experiences these tender feelings with fresh eyes, terrified, exhilarated, out of control and exploring new territory. Afterwards, he tells her of his intention to stay with her. He meets with Bill who defies this union and reminds Joe of who he really is and his purpose in this universe. Joe disregards Bill's violent words and turns on his heel.
Shortly after another encounter with Bill's daughter, Joe realizes that he must leave if he really cares about her, as she describes how she fell in love with him when they met at the cafe before Death took control of Joe's body. Joe returns to Bill, where he "reveals" he is actually an IRS agent investigating Drew's dealings, a play on the saying, "death and taxes". Bill is restored as chairman and the merger is canceled.
In his speech at the lavish gala celebration, Bill Parrish fondly expresses his appreciation to his daughters for their work preparing it as well as his love for both of them. Joe then escorts Bill out of sight over a nearby hill. (It is assumed at this point that Bill has passed.) Death then sends back over the hill the young man whose body he borrowed, allowing Susan that chance to finally pursue the relationship from the beginning of the movie: a final gift of love to her from Death. The story ends with both of them watching the fireworks celebrating her father's birthday, and they start a new life together.
[edit] Cast
- Brad Pitt as Joe Black / Young Man in Coffee Shop
- Anthony Hopkins as William "Bill" Parrish
- Claire Forlani as Susan Parrish
- Jake Weber as Drew
- Marcia Gay Harden as Allison Parrish
- Jeffrey Tambor as Quince
[edit] Reception
Opinions of the film vary greatly. Many critics find the film's three-hour running time excessive, while others feel that its slow pace allows the stories told to feel more personal and poignant. This division of opinion is highlighted by the awards it received: while the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films nominated it for a Saturn Award in three categories - Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Music - the film was also nominated in the Worst Remake or Sequel category at the Razzie Awards. Gary Richied of the Westchester Gazette has given this movie a 4 star rating, citing the Academy Award deserving performances by Pitt and Hopkins. It also received positive reviews from Siskel and Ebert, who gave it "Two Thumbs Up", with Ebert adding "there's so much that's fine in this movie."[1]
While the film had a disappointing domestic box office return of $44,619,100, it fared much better overseas. Taking in an additional $98,321,000, the movie grossed a worldwide total of $142,940,100.
A two-hour version was made to show on television and airline flights, by cutting most of the plotline involving Hopkins' character's business. Brest disowned it, and the director's credit was changed to Alan Smithee.
[edit] Trivia
- This was the most expensive film not to use special effects.
- The film's trailer borrows the Apollo 13 music.
- Received a significant sales boost, as this was one of the first films the trailer for Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace was attached to. This resulted in the near legendary occurrence of people paying full fare just to see the trailer, as well as a projected boost of those who stayed through the movie.
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Meet Joe Black at the Internet Movie Database
- Meet Joe Black at Allmovie
- Meet Joe Black at Box Office Mojo
- Meet Joe Black at Rotten Tomatoes
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