To live life to the fullest, you need to have loved

Rating: Null/10 (13 February 2005)

"To make the journey and not fall deeply in love -- well, you haven't lived a life at all. You have to try. Because if you haven't tried, you haven't lived." This line delivered by William Parrish (played by Anthony Hopkins) in his customary charismatic and empowering way, encapsulates pretty much everything the movie is about. The way this thought is explored through the progress of the movie is very innovative, in terms of the personification of 'death' and the concept of 'his' being on vacation.
This movie talks about the life of a man who is, in essence, a success story. He is someone who believes in living life to the fullest and he wants people who he loves, to be the same way. He is a risk taker in every aspect of life and he strongly believes in taking all the drawbacks in his stride and thereafter bouncing back. His biggest weakness is his love for his daughter 'Susan' played by Claire Forlani. His love for her is so strong that it takes over him to the extent that he almost finds it hard to respect any of her decisions. This leads to him trying to control her life and decisions, though he has only good intentions at heart, while trying to maneuver her life, so that it can be "perfect" or at least what he thinks is perfect.
It is at this point that 'death' played by Brad Pitt walks into the scene in the body of a human being called 'Joe Black'. The purpose of his visit was to explore the human world and he chose 'William Parrish" , to be his guide through this journey for two reasons; one being that Parrish was the perfect embodiment of a knowledgeable, successful and happy man and the other being that he wanted to pick someone who had lived his/her life to the fullest so he would be justified in taking him/her away from this world at the end of his 'vacation'.
What I loved about the movie was how ironic it was that whatever Parrish tried to convince Susan about living life, came back to haunt him as she decided to take the plunge by falling madly in love with the one person that only Parrish knew was 'death' and not suitable for her. It was amazing see a man who was not afraid of dying actually fear death because he did not want to let go of life until he was assured that his daughter was in good hands.
Another fascinating aspect of the movie was how 'death', in the short time that he spent in the real world, learned about love and sacrifice. As he explored the concepts of emotions and feelings, he grew attached to Susan and in due course of time was convinced he loved her. Despite Bill Parrish's continued effort to persuade him to not ruin Susan's life, he was stubborn in his will to be with her and take her with him. But even death, in his most ominous self, realized one of the strongest challenges in loving someone uninhibitedly; sacrificing something for the well being of the one you love. As this dawned upon him towards the end of the movie, he decided to leave Susan on earth and give her the chance to live life to its fullest. I feel that, it is in this act that the film maker tries to set 'death' as an example for us mortals and show us the right way to live and love.
I strongly recommend this movie to everyone mainly because it gives you a perspective on life and death and how everyone has his or her 'time' in this world.