The director was trying too hard.

Rating: Null/10 (16 November 1998)

Meet Joe Black had excellent acting indeed. The composition of each shot, however, was too dramatic. The director tried way too hard to make everything in the frame appear perfect. The visual symmetry between objects in the background and also between characters was overdone. Just watch Joe Black when he walks up the stairs at the end with William Parish. It's almost ridiculous how balanced everything in the scene is. Overall, Meet Joe Black has good acting, a bad storyline, but great manipulation of sound. I would recommend seeing it for a change from other films, but not if you're expecting to feel thoroughly entertained. The warped philosophy of death was also rather disappointing.