Word: forlani
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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MEET JOE BLACK Starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Claire Forlani Directed by Martin Brest...
...actual premise of Meet Joe Black, however, is fascinating and wonderfully profound. Pitt first appears as an agreeable, ill-fated newcomer to New York City who hits on medical resident Susan Parrish (Claire Forlani) in a coffee shop. Soon after leaving the shop, he is killed by an out-of-control car (the death is so overwhelmingly violent that you have to laugh). It turns out that Death himself has orchestrated Mr. Pitt's death so he can inhabit the young man's body. He next approaches communications tycoon William Parrish (Anthony Hopkins), Susan's father, and convinces...
Hopkins, on the other hand, is terrific as always. As a man trying to make peace with his past mistakes, he seethes with regret and repressed anger. Slowly, however, Hopkins realizes that he is not a doomed soul. Time and time again, he steals the scene from Pitt and Forlani, turning the movie's overblown romance into background fodder for his own personal drama. When Hopkins says to Forlani, "I have no regrets; no regrets," before his time is about to run out, we believe...
...Forlani, meanwhile, is a dazzlingly gorgeous find. Her liquid eyes, perfect complexion and high cheekbones give her a look so defined and unique that the camera constantly finds new angles to show off her singular beauty. Unfortunately, Forlani seems a graduate of the Brad Pitt School of Acting. Her role, as written, might as well be Oscar bait--a young, intelligent woman who has found the love of her life must now come to terms with both the loss of this love and her own father to the same force. But Forlani refuses to dig deep. Her performance is strangely...
...also unfair to hurl all the blame at Pitt and Forlani. Though the acting might be depthless, neither the script nor the direction manage to offer anything more profound. Martin Brest heaps on the excess--the film literally glitters in luxury (the ending fireworks scene is just unbelievable). But the spectacular visuals simply accentuate the problems in Meet Joe Black; instead of fleshed-out characters, instead of a compelling narrative, instead of subtlety, it offers us lush backgrounds and swelling music. Knowing full well that the movie can't elicit audience response on its own, Brest tries to shove romance...