Meet Joe Black

 Meet Joe Black

“Yes” whispers a voice through a darkened mansion at night. Billionaire Bill Parish, tosses and turns in his bed, then sits up with a pain in his arm. “Yes” a voice says again. He is startled, and looks around him. But knowing he is certainly alone, confusion quickly settles in. “Yes” it whispers one more time, then nothing. Bill returns to bed, and sleeps. 

This film draws you right in from the beginning. How? The music. You can read a separate review right here I’ve done on this blog about the soundtrack to Meet Joe Black, either now or after you’ve read this review. And the music is a character in the film as much as any of the people it focuses on.  

A good while before it’s central character shows up, we journey into the fascinating world of Bill Parish (Anthony Hopkins). His exclusive mansion, occupied only by himself and his two grown daughters, is in total chaos as preparations for his 65^th birthday party are in full swing. Then, like he’s just hopping in a cab, Bill rides a luxury helicopter over the water and into Manhattan. Along the way, Bill shares a moment with his youngest daughter Susan (Claire Forlani). It’s a touching moment, where Bill dispenses a well of wisdom on life and love to his conscientious daughter. “Lightning could strike” he says, capturing the message of his advice. Little does Susan know, lighting is about to strike that very day. 

Susan strolls in a cosy little coffee shop on Broadway, where a charismatic and handsome young guy has an overloud conversation on the public phone. As he sits down, he launches straight into conversation with Susan. He’s an open book, sharing his life story and asking Susan a barrage of inquisitive questions. She’s caught off guard, but smitten by his charms, so soon lowers her guard. The first few awkward moments pass, then their conversation carries over into mid-morning. Neither one of them wants it to end, but soon enough, they will have to be on their way. 

Across the city in a high-rise office, Bill suffers a heart attack. Alone in his office, the voice from the night before starts to speak to him again. But instead of just uttering the words “Yes”, the voice begins to repeat words Bill had said that morning to his daughter. The voice doesn’t reveal itself, or exactly what it means, instead leaving Bill with a sense of doubt. As mysteriously as it appeared, the voice is gone, but it will return. 

Back at the coffee shop, Susan and the young man (Brad Pitt) stand out front and share with each other, they are quite fond of the other. Then, as they walk opposite directions down the sidewalk, each stops and turns to look at the other walk away. One last time, Susan stops on the corner wondering if she should find out who this man really is, but keeps walking and disappears around the corner. He stops in the middle of the road, then is pummelled at high speed by two cars. From the impact of the accident, there’s no possible way he could have survived, right? 

Having dinner with his family in his “other” mansion in the city, Bill is revisited by the voice, saying he’s waiting at the front door to be let in. Ushering the maid to check the door, she returns to say a young man was at the door, and is now waiting in the library. Bill goes to the library, where the voice continues to talk to him, now visualised as a glimmering silhouette behind the book shelf. Then out of the darkness, a young man in a suit steps into the light. It’s the young man from the coffee shop. But it’s no longer the talkative young man we met. It is Death himself. He has come to visit bill before he takes him to that next place. Death asks Bill to be his guide on earth in exchange for more time. And so, Joe Black, as Bill calls him, meets the rest of the family, including Susan, who is besmitten that the man she had flirted with at the coffee shop was now standing in her dining room. Of course, Death has no memory of their chance encounter, as Susan struggles with her feels of attraction towards the man she met that morning. Joe Black shows he is very different from what she remembers. 

There is the set up for the film. Our characters have been introduced, the setting is in place, and watching this film for the first time doesn’t give you any obvious answers as to where it’s taking you. 

Settle in for a long movie, as Meet Joe Black clocks in at nearly three hours long. Some movies use this amount of time to great effect, and the time flies by in a blink because you’re having so much fun. But to be honest, MJB does take a while to get through. It’s a long three hours, but you will be enthralled none the less. As long as you are willing to let go of the need to be moved along at a fast pace, you will still be moved along, and time will seem to slow down for you as you watch the film. It’s paced in a very unique way, and seems to be broken up into thirty minutes segments, all leading to that quintessential moment where life and death collide.

Meet Joe Black is a multi-layered film. Its premise is stretched far and wide, but a few side story’s pop along the way to maintain interest over it’s long running time. If it feels like the story lags for you at all, the film will win you over in a visual sense. It’s beautifully made, with sumptuous production design, striking cinematography, and impressive locations. Of course, the music works perfectly with the whole tone of the film. Composed by Thomas Newman, who has turned in some of the most unique film scores of all time (American Beauty, Saving Mr. Banks). And the music progresses in style and scope in balance to the progression of the characters. And despite preconceived notions what Death itself would be like as a character under the spotlight – that being one who has a single mission and purpose – Death, or rather Joe, is the character who develops the most. And not in the way you might expect. 

Joe stands out like a child who’s wearing his dad’s suit. His boyish face, and innocent sense of awe and wonder confuses everyone around him. He only utters a few words at a time, but when he does, he breaks the tension in the room as easily as he creates the tension for just being there in the first place. 

Inhabiting the body of a young man, who is still the centre of affection for Susan, Joe begins to discover he has feelings of his own; falling for Susan and discovering love for the first time, and feeling an admiration for Bill as he starts to come to terms with his impending departure from the world of the living. Joe’s original mission is skewered by his own agenda to get to know Susan, but she struggles with trying to forget the man she met at the coffee shop, while falling in love with the same man but as he appears to her now; clearly different in his temperament, but still handsome and charming. This courtship doesn’t go unnoticed by Bill, who isn’t pleased that Death is hitting on his daughter, and showing no fear towards the taker of souls, Bill challenges the entity who could take his life at any moment. But Joe doesn’t end Bill’s life, as he feels a kinship for the rich businessman. 

Now here’s my story about this film. I first watched it about three years after it was released, simply out of curiosity. The first viewing left me kind of overwhelmed; by it’s length, but also by it’s complexity and depth. But the music got me. I went to my local Sanity music store, and found a copy of the soundtrack, the only one on the shelf. 

Taking it home, I sat in my room and listened to it intently. It helped me reconnect with the impression I got of the film, which was cemented by the final twenty minutes (which I’ll get to).  Each piece of music from the soundtrack tells its own story, and after listening to them again, and again, and again, I found this clarity of mind come over me. In my early twenties, I was getting serious about journal writing. Writing while listening to music is a match made in heaven, and the MJB soundtrack and my style of writing worked well together. Hence, writing journal entries while listening to this soundtrack became a staple in my life. I can honestly attribute some of the most personal, longest and reaffirming journal entries I’ve ever written for myself were done under the influence of the music from this soundtrack. Of course, everyone responds differently to a piece of music, and I can’t claim that you will hear what I heard when listening to this soundtrack. It might not conjure up any feelings in you, but if it did, the feelings could be very different from mine. My advice? Watch the movie if you haven’t already done so, and then listen to the music on its own after you’ve seen the film.

Listen to one of the key tracks of the soundtrack, "Walkaway", and you'll know what I mean... 

Now back to the film.

The character of Joe Black, although interesting and played well by Brad Pitt, is not the character I identify with most. It’s the character of Bill Parish, performed to perfection by Anthony Hopkins. The legendary actor embraces every role he plays with an effortless ease that only experience can bring. His acting abilities are on a level most other actors can only aspire to. But despite these powers he so proudly possesses, Hopkins connects with the audience in the most genuine way. And his work in this film is one of his finest portrayals. And the journey of his character is a riveting one.

But Bill not only takes it in his stride, even after having the news delivered to him in advance by Death himself, but he maintains his integrity and character with no hesitation. His character is one I greatly admire, and seeing how successful he had become over the years; the empire he’d built and the legacy he would ultimately leave behind, at the age of 20, I was inspired by how I would live my life, and what kind of legacy I would leave behind. The possibilities, it seemed to me, were endless, and although I didn’t know what that long life that lay ahead would look like, my intention was to make it as magnificent as possible. 

 

The last hour of this film is all about tying up lose ends. Each of the supporting characters, completely unaware of Bill’s impending death, make amends with him. And Bill holds his ground as a man coming to terms with the life he’s lived on the last day of his life. We can only imagine that knowing you’re on deaths doorstep would be a humbling thought, once the initial shock and fear is gone. And Bill does what he has to – as a father and businessman – right up to the very last moment. His integrity is incredible, and who else but Anthony Hopkins could pull off such a convincing portrayal of a man in such a predicament? 

And when a man is standing face to face to Death in the form of another man, it’s one’s will against the other. Bill’s legacy is too important to let the Grim Reaper come along and take advantage of him. And Joe’s agenda is so unshakeable, and his will iron clad, that  he knows he can do what he wants – but he still has to contend with the integrity and valour of Bill. And it’s these exchanges of two men – one from life, the other from the afterlife – that makes for some compelling drama, and Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins have great chemistry together. 

To conclude, and I know this review has been long, so thanks for hanging in there, I can’t avoid talking about the final ten minutes of the film. Without giving away too much, the long film you’ve just watched rewards you for your investment of time and patience, and hits a homerun of heartfelt emotion and human truth. Again, the amazing score to this film is topped off to perfection by a track called “That Next Place”, when only Bill and Joe are left, standing side by side. Moments away from parting the world of the living, Bill still manages to thank Joe for what he did for his daughter Susan. And even Joe, who has grown into a person in just a matter of days, also expresses his gratitude. It’s the meeting of Life and Death, united in a moment by the one thing they both have in common – Love. Life begins with love, and ends with love. We are welcomed into the world by the love of our parents, and as we cross over, we leave behind those who love us. In the end, there is really nothing left to fear, and everything becomes clear. This is the experience you will have yourself, as you reach the end of Meet Joe Black; a renewed sense of zest for life, a deeper love for those closest to you, and a stronger connection to your own life and accepting what it was all about, and how it will be remembered by those you leave behind. 

I enjoyed writing this review for a film, and it was deep, but Meet Joe Black is a film deep in emotion. I’ve loved this film for so long, and seeing it for the first time was a breath of fresh air for me as a young 20-something year old guy at the start of his life. Looking ahead to the long life ahead of me, whenever I got off track or felt disconnected from the meaning of my own life, I would just watch Meet Joe Black. And the music not only took me back to that viewing experience, but took me somewhere else in my own mind, where I could find the appreciation for the true meaning of life, and have no fear of death. 

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