A bit too long, but a fine movie anyway

Rating: 8/10 (28 March 2004)

'Meet Joe Black' is a movie that could raise a lot of questions and a lesser movie probably would have. Here I accepted what the movie was telling me and I enjoyed the story, Anthony Hopkins and the charm of Brad Pitt and Claire Forlani.
A guy (Brad Pitt) and Susan (Claire Forlani) meet, flirt, probably fall in love and both go their own ways. The guy is hit by a car and Death takes his body to find out more about life. You hear me right, Death itself looks like Brad Pitt and he visits Bill Parrish (Anthony Hopkins) to tell him he is going to die. Bill must show the life on earth to Death, who is introduced by Parrish as Joe Black, and in return Bill can live longer. Bill is a very rich guy, loved and respected by almost every other person in the movie, and it happens to be that Susan turns out to be his daughter. Of course Joe Black is not the guy she met that same morning, and although she notices strange things, they do fall in love. Death falls in love with a human being, but I didn't ask any questions.
There is another story. Bill, the rich dying man, is in the middle of a deal concerning his own company. He has to take Joe everywhere so people start getting suspicious and in this way the movie creates a real villain since Pitt can't be it. This story was not really necessary but it makes sure we know how to feel about every character.
Like I said, this movie has some things that make sure it works. The story is sweet with a good heart, probably stupid in a way, but we don't need to care. I didn't even want to. Hopkins is great, like almost always, and especially the way he speaks adds something to his perfect performance. Pitt shows why he is such a popular guy and may be it is true that his performance is a little overdone at times, he seems too aware of who he really represents, his charm pulls him through. Especially in the scenes together with Forlani, who is at least as charming, Pitt finds the right note for his character. The last thing I want to say is that the movie is a little too long. I wasn't bored once but I realized some scenes were not necessary, especially near the final moments. I was able to not be bothered by this, and I guess you can do the same.