How long does a dream last?

Rating: 8/10 (29 April 2001)

Martin Brest has delivered a spacious movie, in which he rightly allows plenty of time for his actors to register very complex emotions, which they do most admirably. The moment when Claire Forlani realizes just who Joe Black really is is moving and memorable. Brad Pitt beautifully conveys the difference between the two characters who inhabit his body; and Anthony Hopkins delivers a tour de force from beginning to end. I know it's a hard thing to do in these frenetic times, but try letting go of reality and day-to-day mundanity when you watch this and other movies. Go with the characters; let the director take you on a journey. When the whole story is a fantasy, don't nit-pick about "inconsistencies." So the situation is preposterous; sometimes preposterous things happen to people and they discover new ways to respond to those experiences. A dream is as real to our brain as waking reality.