Love it or hate it

Rating: 9/10 (7 April 2002)

I think this film is magnificent and very unfairly criticized. It is fantasy at its best, is beautifully filmed, well written and well acted. Anthony Hopkins, in particular, is fantastic. And above all, when it comes to love, "lightning should strike" and we shouldn't settle.

Some people (OK, most people) say this film is too long, and that is their biggest problem with it. I think that's one of the films more prevalent attributes, so that's where I'll start. Either you're into a film or you're not. If you're not into it, even a 90 minute film can seem like an eternity if there's no "action". Camille, A.I., Me Myself and Irene and any James Bond movie fit that bill for me. Therefore, this is one of those films where I won't argue with someone who doesn't like it. It's impossible to like a film that can't sustain your interest. Usually, unless it's just an obviously bad movie, the blame for this lies with the viewer. However, I can concede that this film is not for all tastes and let the naysayers off the hook.
I don't think the film is slow at all, I just think that Martin Brest took his time in allowing the story to unfold and the characters to develop. Joe Black is very much a character study. Most character studies only involve one person. This one has two main characters and three or four more lesser characters who are all studied to one degree or another. Cutting this film down to two hours would mean losing a lot of the insight we get into these characters. No scene is rushed in this film. All are allowed to develop at their own pace and continue on until they've said what they have to say. It's a marvel, and an tribute to the film that the studio allowed it to be released at this length. The decision makers must have had similar thoughts, or they would have chopped an hour off it. After all, the far inferior original, Death Takes A Holiday, was less than 90 minutes, I believe.
The cinematography for this film is absolutely beautiful. It's not real hard to believe that the movie had such a large budget when you stop to notice how magnificent the settings are.
Thoughts on the cast...Anthony Hopkins lends dignity and credibility to every film he's in. His character represents another moral of this film, I think, that we should do as much in this life as possible before it's gone. He, particularly, is the master of "keep filming until I'm done talking" in this film. He's a careful man, and he chooses his words carefully. He is not one to be rushed. Neither is Death. Brad Pitt certainly isn't the best thing about this film, but he doesn't hurt it any. His take on the character is at least a fresh and interesting one. And often funny. Marcia Gay Harden is effective as the lesser loved daughter. The first time I saw this film, I thought for sure Jeffrey Tambor would be a villain, as he always seems to be. I was pleased to see him in a role as a weak, but essentially good man. Claire Forlani is really what makes the wheels of this film turn, though. After all, what is the premise of this film? Death falls in love with a mortal woman. How long has this guy been around? How many women has he come across? In other words, the girl better be pretty great. One of the many weaknesses of Death Takes A Holiday is the girl that Death falls for, Evelyn Venable, is pretty weak. I won't pretend Forlani is a modern day Katherine Hepburn, but she is incredibly beautiful and, in addition to portraying her character well, has a presence about her that Venable lacked. She's believable as someone Death would fall for. I guess. How the hell do I know?
This film is a big throwback to the classic era. I won't say it's Capraesque, since it digs a lot deeper into the characters than any of Frank's films, but the idealistic hero in an unrealistic situation is very reminiscent of Capra's films.
Here's a thought that I can't really fit into any other paragraph, so I'll give it it's own. Although the propensity of films to include an obligatory sex scene seems to have dwindled off in the last decade from it's ridiculous plateau in the 70's, I still tend to get annoyed by them in today's films. Come on, it's the 21st century. We know they're having sex, we don't need to see it for five minutes. Every director seems to think he'll be the one to make his sex scene better than the others, or show us something we haven't seen hundreds of times already. Almost always, they are wrong and the sex scene is tedious. This film's scene is an exception. First, it is different because we're talking about Death here. But besides that, Brest films the scene just like he films the rest of the film. Beautifully and slowly. Most importantly, he concentrates the camera on facial expression, not naked bodies.
The ending is sappy and pours it on. But I love it. Go ahead and call me soft. I love the fireworks. I love the endless rendition of "What a Wonderful World". And I love the happy ending.
Typically, I think remakes and new takes of/on old films are inferior to the originals. But this is the exception. Meet Joe Black takes the far inferior Death Takes A Holiday much deeper. Death Takes A Holiday portrays Death falling in love at first sight, and the whole film only lasts one night. Fredric March is a great actor, but was extremely robotic in that role. To do a story like this, the Death character needs to have a personality. One of the many reasons this version is superior.