A month or so ago, Hallenbeck looked me in the eye and said, “Harry, you are going to love Meet Joe Black.” This, after a pretty darn vicious review of the film.
Well... I guess Joe knows me.
And once again, I can not profess to know Joe. Now first off, this isn’t the most brilliant film of all time, and I do feel that the very end... well just ain’t quite there. But...
BUT..
I was quite entranced by the film. It was almost ordained that I write about Emmanuel Lubezki, cinematographer on LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE and THE LITTLE PRINCESS and the upcoming SLEEPY HOLLOW, last night. At the time I had no clue at all that I would be seeing MEET JOE BLACK tonight. Lubezki... his camera is magic for me. He puts love in the f-stop. But more on that later.
Today was just about like any day, except that my sister’s boyfriend was taking Dad and I out to dinner before the movie. If you are dating a girl you love, I highly recommend taking my dad and I to dinner. We went to this little out of the way Mexican Restaurant that was... well tasty. It’s sickening to see them two together. The just gush love. It’s been that way for over a year now.
You know, I give my sister a hard time, but right now... after watching MEET JOE BLACK, well, she’s relatively unknown, no job, not the best grades. People don’t come up to her in the streets and lavish praises on her. But she has something right now that I cherish above all other conveniences on this planet. Love. She’s done good. I’m proud of her.
We get to the Highland Theater and wait in line. I have an extended conversation with a line person about BELOVED. A person that completely got and loved the film. I was enthralled, I wanted to hear everything they had to say about the film. The history, the backstory, everything that I was uninformed about.
The resonance that the story contained, her life experiences that she drew upon. A story about being on a bus in pre-Civil Rights FLORIDA. The very back seat was the ‘colored’ section, it sat upon the engine and was very very hot. The windows were down to let the 99 degree humid air in. It was so hot she was about to pass out. There was a seat in front of her, open. In fact the entire bus was nearly empty. Only 5 or 6 people on a bus that could carry 50. A man came up to get in her face, he spoke forcefully, he spoke violently. She was just a teenager, but in her mind, at that moment in her life, she would rather die than move from that spot. This man could not take her dignity and her humanity. Though he tried.
You see folks, this is why there are no right opinions about film. She took that with her into that theater. She took that life experience and for her... the movie was everybit as powerful as any of the films I hold close and dear to my heart. Who am I to contradict her experience.
We got to our seats, Quint arrived, and the film started. (I’m leaving out a loud mouthed jerk that should be... ahem... not be allowed into theaters accept for the special “Loud Mouth Jerk Nights” perhaps Wednesdays?)
Here ya go. I believe that some may be being led astray as to the purpose of this film. It is NOT a drama. There is drama to the film, but overall this is a ROMANTIC comedy. Notice the stressed R-word. For some... well it may not be as ‘heavy’ as a film about Death embodied on Earth should be, but I found it heavy in a completely different way.
This is my interpretation of who Death is in this film. He is not a fool or an idiot or a moron. He is an entity that has existed since time ticked it’s first tock. Sentient, but single minded. Taking into his domain the non-living be it animals or humans or perhaps even the trees. Trillions of customers served, the all time Clerk to end all clerks. A tireless, thankless endeavor. Always seeing sorrow and dismay without understanding why. Why? What is they gave up? Always just reading the last line of the last page of a trillion books, and never once knowing what came before.
Never knowing anything, but the period. Occasionally taking a glance to his/her/it’s left to see tears, the gasps of horror, the silence. Never understanding what a tear is, what pain is, what anything in any form other than it’s finale state.
Death decides to take a Holiday. I now dearly wish to see Fredric March’s take on Death, since he played the role in the original film, DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY. I haven’t seen this film though I am a huge fan of March’s.
Hallenbeck saw an early print of this film way back in May. That’s 6 months ago, and while the film has right about the same running length.... well, I didn’t see the film he saw. It’ll be interesting to see if it has changed, or if merely it’s the differences between the two of us.
Remember GHOST? This film reminded me of that film, but... I prefer this one. Why?
Because:
Anthony Hopkins, Claire Forlani, Brad Pitt, Jake Weber, and because there was no comedy sidekick type of character. I felt this movie was grounded in reality. Instead of casting a well known actress as the older woman from the Islands in the hospital. I got a face I can’t place, that looks like a face you may see wheeled into a hospital, that you would glance at and feel... the pain concealed behind her furled brows.
Because there wasn’t a pop rock-n-roll theme song during a pottery love in. Because the film just worked on so many levels for me.
Most of all, it’s because of Claire and Brad’s performances.
Wow. They meet. When you meet a person you are attracted to... well it could happen at any department store, a magazine stand... anywhere. But when you do meet, and you have that fantastic first conversation. The one where you very first get the inkling that this is the person. THE PERSON. The conversation begins to get awkward when immediately you are in the midst of what it is to be loved, what you want, what you seek, how you see yourself with your mate. That sort of spilling of your heart, your pulse races, your mind flings. You begin to age the person you are with, you begin to wonder what they look like the next morning, hungover, at peace. You begin to immerse yourself in the conversation when...
Reality comes crashing in, and you realize there are commitments, errands, things to do. You don’t want to be forward by pressing a number into her hand. You don’t want to be a slut by offering the number. You feel weird, this is a parting of someone you just... in that conversation contemplated the white picket fence, two cars and a boat with. You saw your mutual dogs, the kids and diapers, the world flying by, and now you are parting and you can’t remember a name. What was the name? You begin to part. The hands tear way. Someone turns first, when you think they’ve forgotten you, you turn, then they, then you then they... Then no more.
Will you every see them again, did you lose your chance, was that that? Is it merely a diary entry? Was it a momentary fragment of wishful thinking? Was it a bit of sausage that made the glimmer in her eye spark at you, or was the spark really there? You look at a phone book, what was her name, you forget it. You put it away.
Now the similar scene in the film, doesn’t go like that, not exactly but the feeling is there, that LIGHTNING. The spark, the energy, the flying little cherub bastard had his sites on you.
Brad and Claire did this, they evoked this. Perhaps it was Emmanuel Lubezki’s camera work, the glow to the moments, or the editing of the moments by Hutshing (JERRY MAGUIRE and FRENCH KISS) and Tronick (TRUE ROMANCE). Perhaps it was Martin Brest’s direction. His infusion of life and love. It worked for me.
I’ll get back to the love story in a second, but before I do, I want to address why the sub-plot was so... significant for me. Why is it important to have this corporate take over as a part of the film? For me. Well it comes down to looking at Hopkin’s character, to deny that plotline is to deny Hopkin’s character a chance to live. When death comes.. when we say farewell to this world, what do we go on to? I don’t know. And religious and non-religious debates aside, I don’t think anyone quite has a definite answer.
SO if given time to contemplate your appointment with Mr Reaper, well... I think I would ponder the seconds I’ve spent living. What did I do? What is left behind? If all I have to look forward to are the worms... What is my impression onto the world I’ve lived and loved. For Hopkins it is his business. His business and his family is what he leaves behind. He wants to put everything in it’s place. He wants to leave it exactly the way he wants it. But by putting that in danger, by making death a possible defeat... well, for me, it added dramatic resonance, it kept the film from being a purely idyllic universe. To deny it... well for me it would be a bit like asking Capra to remove that damn Potter character and the whole Savings and Loan bit. It’s integral to the film.
And lastly, one of the reasons I most loved this film was for the handling of the lovemaking process.
I think too often people focus on the musculature of love-making. The forceful nature of it. That’s alien to me. It’s never been a plus in a film. Here, as in Emmanuel Lubezki other films (LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE and GREAT EXPECTATIONS) it is a very real tangible expression of love.
Watch Brad’s eyes during the first kiss. Watch what they are thinking. My ESP said “Hmmmm, this is nice.” Then as the kiss moved beyond the brushing of lips, beyond a pressing to an open sharing “Oh, I really like this.”
It’s not dialogue, it’s not narration, but it’s there. Just as clearly as a typed page. You can see it. At the same time you can see the confusion, the thrill, the electricity. And how do you have all this time to see all of this? Because Brest gives you that time, he allows you the silence to think it for yourself. No score, no smooch sounds, just the kiss. You provide your own mental sighs.
The love making didn’t focus on breasts or butt cheeks, but rather on the faces, on the looks and the emotions. The sensations in the eyes, the minds. I have always loved the look in the face during love-making. A caress. To see pleasure and bliss. To hear that exasperation, not “ Oh baby o baby, me soo horny” but that profound sensual moment of smiles, the release of tensions... the calm. Yes, that’s what is here. I loved it. By the time Thomas Newman’s note perfect score joined, I was already hearing the music of joined spirits. The joy of discovery, the removal of all that is hidden. I loved it.
If you want a romantic flash and a smile... well, I got one from this. For now I sit in my room writing this and I really miss the feeling I have when I have someone near to love. I miss them.
