meet joe black is your classic boy-meets-girl , boy-likes-girl , boy-gets-killed-in-horrible-accident , supernatural-entity-takes-over-boy's-body , supernatural-entity-falls-in-love-with-girl story . based on the 1934 film death takes a holiday , meet joe black is a well acted romantic drama which explores the meanings of life and love . william parrish ( anthony hopkins ) is a billionaire businessman on the brink of his 65th birthday . he has built a huge media empire , and raised two beautiful daughters , allison ( marcia gay harden ) and susan ( claire forlani ) . william has been able to negotiate his way out of many tough spots . . . but he has suddenly begun fearing his own mortality , the one situation he won't be able to talk his way out of . and he has good reason to fear , for death himself is stalking him . however , death has a deal to make . death has taken possession of a man who has recently died ( brad pitt ) , and wants william to be his guide in a holiday among the living . in return , william gets to live a few extra days . of course , he agrees . death , under the human name of " joe black " , gets to experience life as a complete innocent . he never before has experienced the simple pleasures of a springy matters or peanut butter . and he's not quite compared for the more complex pleasures when he and susan fall in love . but , is their affair doomed to an early demise ? at nearly three hours in length , meet joe black is a little bit on the leisurely side , though it never gets boringly lengthy . instead , the film gets a chance to develop some nicely textured characters and situations . you get to soak in and enjoy the atmosphere , rather than being hurriedly rushed through it . the romantic angle works well , though , surprisingly , the interactions between joe black and william parrish are more interesting than those with his daughter . this is most likely due to anthony hopkins , who once again displays his superb acting skills . william is a desperate man who has had a seemingly ideal life , and doesn't want to let it go . by contrast , claire forlani is merely the romantic interest . she gets to show joe the ropes of love , but is hardly as interesting a character . as joe black , brad pitt seems a bit stilted . granted , he's supposed to be out-of-place , but the overly formal technique used by pitt begins to distract from the role . still , he is able to hold his own , and over the course of the three hours , his character begins to grow on you . the main character who seems out of place here is drew ( jake weber ) , an ambitious executive in williams' company who is joe black's main rival for susan's affections . weber plays the character with a hammy relish reminiscent of snidley whiplash . this cartoonish foil an aberration in a film filled many more dimensional characters . the supernatural elements of the film are handled murkily , but never distractingly so . we never learn what is the exact nature of death , or why he's never done something like this before . it actually gets a bit creepy when death talks to the dying in their own voices/accents . ( his initial conversations with hopkins sound shockingly like hannibal lecter . . . ) and the ultimate resolution to one of the film's supernatural problems seems , well , somewhat superficial . still , even with the film's length , it was a pleasant time at the movies , something you wouldn't necessarily expect from a film about death . . . but one which meet joe black delivers anyhow .
