Forget the critics

Rating: 8/10 (7 April 1999)

Forget all the bad press you've heard about this movie. "Meet Joe Black" is a wonderful celebration of life and, yes, death. Is the pace slow? Yes. Is the movie over-long? Yes. But the direction and the cast more than make up for it with deep, three-sided characters. All the pieces of the story fit together nicely and there are reverberations of certain lines throughout the movie. Words literally come back to haunt the characters (and the viewer). And that orgasmic burst of fireworks in the final frames of the film? In case you didn't pick up on it, that's a celebration of life and love! See this one to remember the important things in your life; see it with the one you love.