Having an exceptionally busy time at work just now- bear with me, I'll try to get a new op posted so...
Having an exceptionally busy time at work just now- bear with me, I'll try to get a new op posted soon.
Member since:09.07.2001
Reviews:51
Members who trust:45
As it was the last day of my holidays, I figured what better than to curl up on the sofa under the duvet and watch a film starring Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins. Titled "Meet Joe Black" the plot is simple- Death aka Joe Black decides to take a holiday and experience some of life- with Anthony Hopkins' character William Parish as his personal tour guide. As long as Parish can keep Death amused, he gets to carry on living. Death moves into Parish's house, comes to dinner with family and tags along to company board meetings. Not to mention falls in love with the taste of peanut butter and Parish's daughter Susan (played by Claire Forlani), not necessarily in that order. Oh, and there is a subplot involving a corporate takeover of Parish's company
Unfortunately, they should have called this movie "Losing the Will to Live", because by the time it finished, I was catatonic with boredom. There are long movies, and slow movies, and boring movies, and then there is Meet Joe Black. The pace of the film,
which runs at just under 3 hours, is unlike anything I ever witnessed. Every line of dialogue, every interaction between the characters is stttttttreeeeeeetchhhhed out. And given some pregnant pauses and long drawn out eye contact. Let me give you an example:
Sample scene between Joe Black and love interest Susan
"I have something…..to tell you." "Oh?…you…..do? " 30 seconds of "meaningful" eye contract "Yes….I am…." "You are….you're" "Yes…I am….." Another 30 seconds of flashing eyes. The violins swell. "Oh…you are…..you are…Joe…." "Yes. I am…." The violins crash into crescendo. The characters embrace for another two minutes without saying anything. Then, "I…feel…" "I know….."
and so on.
You think I am exaggerating? I'm not. Drag that kind of carry on over three hours, and during every exchange, and you begin to get the picture. It's a shame, really, because the actors are actually pretty decent. Anthony Hopkins plays his part with a certain amount of gravitas, although he's not really given all that much to work with. Claire Forlani as daughter Susan is charming, despite the fact her character come across as quite glacial and cool in parts. Despite the constant pushing of the theme of "seek out passion and romance", I detected very little actual chemistry between Forlani and Pitt. Don't get me wrong, they are beautiful to look at, and perhaps if the pace of the film had been given some urgency or indeed passion, I might have been convinced. It doesn't help that Brad Pitt's character is forced to play out the love scenes with a kind of emotionless bewilderment on his face.
The main problem is that Joe Black is supposed to both powerful and otherworldly, but yet innocent in the ways of living. This I simply cannot buy into- I find it trite in the extreme to believe that Death has a.) never tried out this holiday lark before, and b.) never encountered things like food, sex, corporate takeovers and neckties before. The writers clearly did not know how to define Black's role in the world, and as a result, Brad Pitt is forced to come across as humourless, wooden and at times, downright bizarre.
Sure, he looks great, but his character seems the most enthused when chowing down on some cookies. There is no sense of anything deeper, no hint of the profound knowledge and mystery Death must surely possess. Apart from one rather shallow reference to Death's ability to carry on "working" while munching down on cold lamb sandwiches, there is no attempt to peek into the universal truth of an individual's mortality, what comes after, or anything else. Disappointing, to say the least.
I find it extraordinary that director Martin Brest was allowed to stretch an hours worth of material into a 3 hour marathon. The only reason I carried on watching until the end was I was so slack-jawed with boredom I couldn't get off the sofa. Plus, I admit, I was curious how they were going to end it. Without giving too much away, it was even worse than I thought.
Afterwards, the Boyfriend who was watching it in his house in Glasgow phoned up, and we were both equally incredulous at such an inane conclusion to such an extended piece of self-indulgent extravagance. I am honestly flabbergasted this film was ever allowed to be released in this format. I don't even know what message to take away from it- maybe Death learned something from his outing as Joe Black, but I surely didn't.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
It was too slow for me as well. I'm old but not too old to still enjoy looking at good looking men! I am old enough that my Husband won't get jealous.
LL
ChigwellChick 27.01.2002 01:38
This sounds completely horrible! I have written a note in my diary to remind me never to watch it! Great opinion well deserving of its £15 prize! Jackie :o)
wilsam00 26.01.2002 21:43
WOW A cracking op. Sam. :0). Come on then what are you going to spend the dosh on, you lucky so and so!LOL.
Meet Joe Blackseemed almost fated to fail when it was released in 1998, but this romantic ... more
fantasy--a remake of 1934'sDeath Takes a Holiday--deserves a chance at life after box-office death. Although many moviegoers were turned off by director Martin Br...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Meet Joe Blackseemed almost fated to fail when it was released in 1998, but this romantic ... more
fantasy--a remake of 1934'sDeath Takes a Holiday--deserves a chance at life after box-office death. Although many moviegoers were turned off by director Martin Br...
Postage & Packaging: £2.69 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Meet Joe Blackseemed almost fated to fail when it was released in 1998, but this romantic ... more
fantasy--a remake of 1934'sDeath Takes a Holiday--deserves a chance at life after box-office death. Although many moviegoers were turned off by director Martin Br...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
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![Meet Joe Black [DVD] [1999]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/80525588.jpg "Meet Joe Black [DVD] [1999]")
![Meet Joe Black [VHS] [1999]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/74877749.jpg "Meet Joe Black [VHS] [1999]")
![Meet Joe Black [DVD] [1999] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/75113040.jpg "Meet Joe Black [DVD] [1999] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]")
Jan 3rd, 2002
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