Director Martin Brest is one of those dedicated filmmakers who takes his time between projects. In the last twenty years, he has made only five films - Going In Style, Beverly Hills Cop, Midnight Run, Scent Of A Woman and now, Meet Joe Black.

Nearing his 65th birthday, William Parrish (Anthony Hopkins) receives a most unexpected gift, a visit from Death--played by Brad Pitt in a wonderfully subtle and well calculated performance. It seems that Pitt wants to sample the human experience and picks Parrish to be his guide. In return, he grants Parrish temporary reprieve.

This film is overly long with a running time of three hours, but it doesn't matter. It's a film brimming with heart and passion and that's what counts. Brest does with this film what most directors are afraid to do - he allows it breathe. Many scenes linger to the point where the audience will feel like they are eavesdropping on the lives of these characters.

Meet Joe Black is full of richly written characters and terrific performances. The radiant Claire Forlani (Mallrats) is wonderful as one of Parrish's daughters, an intelligent doctor who finds herself swept off her feet by the innocent fish-out-of-water Mr. Black (Pitt). However, Hopkins is the glue that holds the film together. In an interesting change, he plays a hard-working, respectable businessman with a heart. The film is full of interesting ideas and character relationships that I've never seen before. It's also a very old-fashioned and beautiful film.

Meet Joe Black is full of enough magical moments that I can't wait to run out and see it again. This marks the fifth time that Martin Brest has delivered great entertainment. If he keeps turning out films like this, he can take all the time he wants in between projects. Meet Joe Black was certainly worth the wait.