Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageMeet Joe Black (1998)
Director: Martin Brest
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
On the eve of his 65th birthday, media magnate William Parrish (Hopkins) feels heart tremors giving him notice to quit. In the meantime, he tells daughter Susan (Forlani) that her fiancé, his right-hand man Drew (Weber), is not quite right for her, which she too realises when sparks fly with a complete stranger in a New York café. After they part, she fails to notice him being run over and killed; even so, she's still surprised when he turns up at her father's house for dinner. In fact, Death (Pitt) has arrived in town for a look around. He's using the young man's body and has chosen Hopkins as his guide. Four writers have adapted Mitchell Leisen's 1934 film Death Takes a Holiday and spun it out to three hours. The result is seductively luxurious, with Hopkins bringing authority to his portrait of a man facing his end, and Pitt teasingly enigmatic as the force of mortality in human guise. But the drama's various elements - fantasy thriller, romantic fable, corporate shoot-out, family reconciliation - fail to pull together, and the interminable finale is simply soft in the head.Author: TJ
User reviews of this film
-
- Sarah said...
- Posted on May 29 2009 15:44 Touchingly deep, an unforgetable film of great meaning. I think this film shows off Pitt's talent of understanding and exploring the non-existing boundries of acting. Hats of to Hopkins.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- michael said...
- Posted on Dec 07 2008 14:09 brilliant and touching. artistically/ poetically crafted.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Mick Sawyer said...
- Posted on May 05 2008 22:43 A truly magnificence performance from both Anthony Hopkins and Brad Pitt.
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Martin Brest
Producer: Martin Brest
Cast: Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Claire Forlani, Jake Weber, Marcia Gay Harden full cast
Duration: 181 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Review: Penélope Cruz more raunchy than ever in 'Nine'
Dave Calhoun reports on Rob Marshall's Oscar-touted musical with Daniel Day-Lewis playing a troubled director
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Jim Jarmusch on 'The Limits of Control'
Jim Jarmusch has followed ‘Broken Flowers’ with an esoteric crime mystery. Dave Calhoun speaks to him from his New York office
Richard Linklater on 'Me and Orson Welles'
Dave Calhoun meets the 49-year-old, Houston-born filmmaker Richard Linklater to discuss his new comedy
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now