November 20, 1998
By Ted Anthony
AP NATIONAL WRITER
That, in a nutshell, is ``Meet Joe Black,'' a sweet, whimsical tearjerker of a modern fable that makes an admirable dash for excellence but falters just short of the cinematic finish line. Yet that takes nothing away from its capacity to make you think.
Parrish (Anthony Hopkins) is alone in his Manhattan office when he is seized by chest pains (an unexpectedly terrifying scene). He hears a voice - a voice he soon learns is that of Death (Pitt), who has knocked off an earnest young lawyer and taken over his body. Seems he wants to experience life; Bill, he believes, is his best bet. Parrish names him Joe - Joe Black.
``You're not death,'' Parrish scoffs at first. ``You're a kid in a suit.''
But he's quickly convinced, and Bill and Joe's excellent adventure begins. Joe follows Bill everywhere - to family meals, to board meetings, to everywhere but the bathroom. Parrish, though, has a tough time taking orders from anyone but has little choice. As long as Death is entertained, Parrish stays alive. There's nothing evil or extorting about this; Death is simply doing his job.
There's another catch. Joe begins to fall for Bill's daughter, Susan (Claire Forlani). Bill doesn't much like this; sure, he's been lecturing Susan on the importance of passion and being carried away, but the prospect of her dating Death is, well, a little much even for him.
Pitt, in an uneven but ultimately satisfying performance, effectively neuters Death by turning it into an earthly male ingenue. His Joe Black is alternately loving and callous, benevolent and poised on the edge of tantrum. He has existed forever, yet in our world he is a child. Because of the way he soaks up the humanness of those around him, this movie, loosely based on the old play and film ``Death Takes a Holiday,'' might well be titled ``Death Tastes Peanut Butter'' or ``Death Learns to Tie a Tie.''
Hopkins specializes in making distant men human (``Shadowlands,'' ``Remains of the Day,'' ``The Edge''), and this film is no exception. Parrish is a good man who has lived well, but he still has something to learn: being more expressive. Under his impending death sentence, he finds out how.
Through no fault of Hopkins, however, his character suffers from lack of conflict. Bill Parrish is - it's hammered home repeatedly - a benevolent, wonderful human being. He's fighting to preserve his legacy and say his good-byes, but beyond that the script leaves little room for self-examination and progress.
Attention to human mannerism and meticulous pacing that mirrors life itself help this movie. But while the message may be that life is too short, ``Meet Joe Black'' certainly isn't. It's nearly three hours - much of it replete with meandering hyper-Mametian dialogue.
A competent supporting cast helps. Forlani, an expressive young actress, seems forever trapped in the heartbreaking limbo between happiness and tears. Jeffrey Tambor (HBO's ``The Larry Sanders Show''), as Bill's son-in-law Quince, perfects his sad-sackery with a deeper, more interesting version of his usual ne'er-do-well. Marcia Gay Harden as Allison, Bill's other daughter, provides an interesting contrast to Susan. And Jake Weber is appropriately oily as Drew, Bill's business associate.
An actress named Lois Kelly-Miller almost steals the film with a cameo as an elderly Jamaican woman who desperately wants Death to take her. In the process, she offers Joe a glimpse into life's real meaning. ``We're lonely here mostly, too,'' she says. ``If we're lucky, maybe, we got some nice pictures to take with us.''
That's a good message for what is an exceptional movie in many ways. But in the end, ``Meet Joe Black'' needed just a bit more tension and conflict to be truly extraordinary.
``Meet Joe Black,'' a Universal Pictures release, is directed and produced by Martin Brest (``Midnight Run,'' ``Scent of a Woman'') from a screenplay by Ron Osborn and Jeff Reno and Kevin Wade and Bo Goldman. It is rated PG-13.
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