Review of Meet Joe Black (1998) by Blanky A — 11 Jan 2010

The heart of the film can be found in Hopkins' William Parrish, a dynamic man who has been chosen by Death for observation as the best humanity has to offer. As Hopkins plays him, with tremendous verve and sympathy, he is all this, but the character also seems impossibly idealized, truly without flaws. Never is there an indication of the ruthlessness that must have been required to get as far as he did. He is even the perfect widower, forever living in the memory of his adored wife, without a woman to replace her.

By contrast, Pitt's Joe Black is an odd egg indeed. At times Joe looks as though he hasn't a clue what to do or say in polite company, while at others he appropriately appears to be several steps ahead of everybody else. Looking dashing and slightly impish at times, Pitt isn't particularly effective in the moments he must carry the screen alone or in his attempts at physical comedy. He's better in the romantic interludes, in which Joe experiences love and sex for the first time, and best of all in his scenes with Hopkins, suggesting that he would excel in ensemble pieces cast opposite strong actors, rather than toplined alone.