A Film, not a Movie

Rating: 10/10 (17 May 2006)

So many of us enter theaters to be entertained. To laugh. To cry. To relax. We go to escape from the cares and responsibilities of life. Meet Joe Black is not what we expect. Filled with the best actors of the day, we expect the usual entertainment, but Meet Joe Black is anything but usual. We are forced to step into an unfamiliar arena. Things look the same, but we find ourselves forced to deal with the issue none of us wants to think about, let alone contemplate deeply, and certainly not something we expect to see on film. Meet Joe Black is among my top twelve favorites. It's slow pace is unfamiliar to Americans used to instant gratification, and though Brad Pitt's finely sculpted face is easy on the eyes, many viewers lack the patience to absorb the films content. I wish they would try. A few lines are insipid. The 'multiply times infinity' makes me gag, but the scene where Pitt tastes peanut-butter for the first time is positively brilliant, and should be studied by all actors hoping for a film career. The shifts from high drama to low comedy are subtle, and you don't notice many of them until you have watched the DVD version several times. What critics point to as flaws, I find to be some of the best parts of the film. Thomas Newman's music is masterful, each performance superb. What Martin Brest did was release his Director's Cut in theaters. Many viewers failed to spend the time needed to absorb and enjoy it. A pity.