I just watched this movie for the first time. The plotline was interesting and definitely had potential. However, I don't think it holds up well in current society. The movie seems to glorify and even romantacise toxic relationships under the guise of forbidden, passionate love. My main criticism is the portrayal of Susan. She comes off as an infantilized, naive woman who basically throws herself at an attractive stranger she knows nothing about. She even acknowledges that he (joe/death) is not who he says he is but is just like "f-it, I love him even though I know he's lying to me, withholding, and I actually don't know who he is". It's just accepted that physical attraction equals love. . Smh. Not to mention that Joe is hanging around her very rich father. Not a key part to the plotline but considering that Susan is intelligent enough to a doctor, you'd think she'd tread with a little more caution. Just saying it gives the impression that smart women lose all intelligence and common sense if an attractive man is just a tad bit nice to them. Also I find it odd that Bill( Anthony Hopkins) finds out he's on borrowed time and all he cares about is protecting his legacy. His business legacy that is. He barely puts any effort into making the most of his time with his two daughters Susan and Allison. On top of that he takes it a step farther by clearly dismissing Allison's desperate attempts to connect with him (via birthday party planning). He's more invested in Susan though she's still not his priority. The fact that he never denies it when Allison brings up that Susan is the favorite reminds of the concept of an assigned golden child by narcissistic parents. Actually much of how Bill acts indicates he's a narcissist. He cares more about name sake and pride than the actual relationships in his life. Yet the movie paints him out to be this wonderful man who's full of integrity and grace. Sure the last 10 minutes of the movie are about redemption but the other 2.5+ hours re-frame deceit, gaslighting, emotional withholding, and other forms of emotional abuse as acts of love and integrity. Also I'm not sure if I'm the only one who feels this way but Joe (Brad Pitt) and Susan (Claire Forlani) have no on-screen chemistry. Their romance scenes were kinda awkward to watch. Still want to give a positive shout out to some good performances I saw. Anthony Hopkins was great. I didn't like his character but good or bad, Hopkins knows how to sell a role. I also loved Marcia Gay Harden as Allison.