With an all-star cast that includes Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins and Claire Forlani, Meet Joe Black is a film about death and the value of life. The film lasts approximately three hours and fifteen minutes, it is quite slow at times, but it has an excellent plot. Filming takes place in the hub of big business in New York City, where Anthony Hopkins plays a character named Bill Parrish, who is a CEO of a billion-dollar news company.
The story begins in Bill Parrish’s luxurious New York City apartment, where he wakes up at night with pain in his chest and arm. He goes to the bathroom where he splashes water on his face and wonders what’s going on, as he hears a voice simply say, “Yes.” Bill does not recognize that he may have heart problems and goes on with his daily life as chairman of the board of directors of his news corporation.
Next, we see Bill’s two daughters enter the scene. Susan, Bill’s favorite daughter, stops by for breakfast before heading off to the hospital where she is an internal medicine resident. Bill’s other daughter, Allison, doesn’t seem to have a job, but she keeps busy planning Bill’s 60th birthday party at Bill’s property. She’s planning an extraordinary party that includes flaming archers, big band ensembles, well-known vocalists, and politicians of all stripes. Bill makes it clear that he doesn’t care about the party at all and several times in the movie makes Allison angry at her lack of interest.
On her way to work, Susan stops at a diner near the hospital where she runs into an unnamed young man played by Brad Pitt. The young man strikes up a conversation with Susan since he is new in town, and they end up having coffee together and telling each other how they like each other. They walk away with regret and do not get each other’s contact information. As the young man crosses a busy intersection on his way to work, he turns away thinking of Susan and is killed when he is hit by two cars. This part of the movie is very well done and will surely surprise the viewer.
Meanwhile, Bill plans to sell his company to a media mogul. He is uncomfortable with the idea of selling his life’s work to a man whose intentions are unclear, and he is even more uncomfortable when he realizes that he is dying. While he is in his office the next day, the voice he hears causes him to fall to his knees and clutch his chest as he sweats, at the mercy of his voice. The voice tells him that the “yes” he has been hearing is the answer to Bill’s question: “Am I dying?”
That same night, Bill Parrish, his two daughters, Allison’s husband Quince, and Susan’s boyfriend Drew gather for dinner at Bill’s house. Drew is Bill’s right-hand man and it is believed that when Bill is gone one day, Drew will take over Parrish Communications. Dinner is just beginning when Bill hears the voice again, saying that he is at the front door and wants to be let in. Bill’s maid lets the man behind the voice into Bill’s house and meets Bill in Bill’s library. This part of the film is filled with tension and discomfort, and the viewer realizes that as powerful as Bill Parrish is in the real world, there is still a higher power that rules his life.
Parrish speaks to the voice, who is standing behind a bookcase in his large library, and the voice tells him to shut up and listen to what it has to say. Eventually, the voice is revealed to be Susan’s crush from the diner, but with a completely different personality. It’s not entirely obvious at this point, but “Death” has taken over the body of the young man from the diner to enter Bill Parrish’s life. In fact, Parrish has heart problems and will die in the near future, and “Death” has taken the young man’s body so that he can learn about life from a man who lives life to the fullest. “Death” wants to take a vacation from helping people die and wants to see what life is like for one of the best humans alive.
Bill Parrish asks what they should do about “Death” in their life, and the young man says that he will stay at Bill’s house, have dinner with his family, and go to work with him every day. Basically, he wants to do everything Bill does so he can see how an exceptional human being lives. At dinner it becomes obvious that the young man does not understand how humans live, as he is overwhelmed by the maids bringing him food and the comments Parrish’s family makes to him. Bill must introduce the anonymous young man to his family and comes up with the name Joe Black, an appropriate name for “Death”.
When Susan arrives at dinner and realizes that the young man from the diner has returned to her life, she is impressed, as is her boyfriend, Drew. Joe Black realizes that she knew the young man from the diner who is now dead and that he is not the same person she expected. She gets frustrated and doesn’t understand why he’s acting differently, but Joe manages to hide his true identity. Drew makes the comment that he doesn’t like how Susan and Joe look at each other and breaks off his relationship with Susan. Joe tells Susan that he doesn’t like how Drew spoke to him rudely, and the two end up kissing in Bill’s front room.
At this point, Bill realizes that Susan is falling for Joe Black and warns his daughter that Joe is not who she thinks he is. Susan listens but doesn’t seem to care, as she makes love to Joe several days later near Bill’s indoor pool. Bill not only has major concerns about his daughter falling in love with Death, but now he has backed down from his willingness to sell his company. He tells his board of directors, with Joe at his side, that his company is not for sale. Parrish does not give specific reasons for her decision and does not leave it open for discussion. Drew, very suspicious of Joe at this point, and Joe and Drew start a nasty relationship with each other. Drew is unaware that Joe is an omniscient being and that his wit will never match Joe’s personality and knowledge of everything in the world.
Drew is so suspicious of Bill Parrish and his dependence on Joe that he holds a secret meeting with the board of directors. Allison’s husband, Quince, who is also on the board, reveals that Bill has left some of the decision-making in Joe’s hands, as he has a lot on his mind. Knowing that Bill is letting a stranger make decisions for him, the board votes to give Bill a staggering amount of money to resign after his sixtieth birthday. Bill has no choice in the matter and leaves the boardroom distraught and utterly saddened.
The story now focuses on Bill’s lavish birthday party. All of his closest friends are there in their suits and tuxedos and spirits are running high. However, Bill has had an argument with Joe and now knows that his life will end after the party. The discussion was about Joe falling for Susan. Bill says that Joe is a lousy attempt at being a person and he doesn’t want Joe to take Susan with them to the dark side. Bill says that if Joe has a heart and is really a decent person, Joe will go and reveal to Susan who he really is and see what she thinks. Joe walks out of Bill’s office where we assume Bill is finishing his will and goes directly to Susan. She is frightened by what Joe reveals to her, and Joe begins to see that she has been selfish and that Susan must stay alive.
The last hours of Bill’s life are sad but well spent. He is forced to take the stage at his own party to give a speech and tells the crowd of him that he has a special memory with everyone present. The speech is short and very melancholy as Bill is too preoccupied to give a moving speech. After the speech, he kisses Allison and Susan and returns to his home office. He asks his son-in-law, Quince, to invite Drew over for a last-minute chat. Drew is flattered by the invitation, but when he arrives at the office, he sees Bill and Joe and knows that he’s in a bad situation. Bill curses him and tells Drew that he knows how Drew was planning a secret partnership with the man who was buying Bill’s company. Drew was going to break up Bill’s company piece by piece and ruin his life’s work to enrich himself and the board of directors. Bill gives Drew the choice to resign and never show his face again, or hire lawyers and force Drew to go to prison. Drew wisely decides to quit and begins to wonder how Bill and Joe knew so much about his immoral plans.
The last part of the film takes the viewer through each emotion. First, Joe tells Drew that he’s from the IRS and that he had a bad feeling that Drew was doing a bad deal. Through investigation, Joe says that he discovered Drew’s plans, which is why Drew decided to resign and avoid prison. He realized that the battle of wits and intelligence between him and Joe was over, and Drew had been beaten by an IRS agent. With Bill’s company safe and back in the hands of the board of directors, he feels comfortable enough to return to the party and say his last goodbyes.
Joe says goodbye to Susan and tells her that he will always love her. Susan and Joe get very emotional when Joe walks away from her. Bill kisses Allison and later finds Susan and asks her to dance. They spend a beautiful moment together in Bill’s last moments, and Bill tells him that whatever happens, he doesn’t worry. Susan seems to understand that her father may be dying and she begins to cry even more. She leaves to watch the fireworks display and Bill leaves to catch his breath.
Bill Parrish walks up a bridge and up a grassy hill to meet Joe and start the dying process. Bill has said goodbye to the two most important people in his life, Allison and Susan, and can now die in peace. Bill tells Joe that he admires how Susan showed the kind of love for Joe that Bill had always dreamed of. He saw that Susan was truly in love and happy and that made Bill happy. Joe tells Bill that he admires him as a person and that he is grateful for his time on Earth. They walk casually over the hill into the darkness where Bill dies, but Joe doesn’t. Susan sees the two most important men in her life walking up the hill and begins to climb it herself. She sees Joe come back up the hill and start walking towards her. Susan isn’t sure what’s going on, but as Joe approaches her, she sees that the young man from the diner is back. Joe ended up taking Bill’s life, but he also brought life back to the body of the young man he took at the beginning of the movie. To show that he is reasonable and actually has a good heart, Joe feels that making Susan happy for the rest of her life would be a fair exchange for taking Bill’s life. The film ends with Susan and the man from the cafeteria walking hand in hand towards the fireworks which explode dramatically over the Parrish property.
The plot of this movie is incredibly deep and interesting. The idea that “Death” comes to Earth to experience life in the body of a young man is truly unique. Martin Brest does a fantastic job of directing this big budget movie with his all-star cast. The movie will have you laughing at Joe’s innocent antics, crying at the end when everyone must say goodbye as Bill heads to his death, and even getting mad at Drew for trying to destroy Bill’s multi-billion dollar corporation. This move is a must see and due to the complexity of the story and emotional plot it is rated 5 out of 5.
