“The Burial,” a courtroom drama directed by Maggie Betts and written by Doug Wright, is the type of baity drama that used to get made in the ‘90s and I do mean that as both a good and bad thing.
Betts’ latest is based on the true story of a lawyer and his client’s lawsuit against the Loewen funeral company. The film is adapted from a 1999 New Yorker article of the same name by Jonathan Harr.
The lead actors here are Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones. Their chemistry is what damn-near saves the movie from succumbing to every possible cliche in the book. The film is driven by nostalgic filmmaking, it lives and dies on it.
I will say that “The Burial” absolutely crushed it win the 2,000-person audience at its TIFF premiere. The crowd ate it up and I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up in the final three for the coveted people’s choice award.
This is a true story about the friendship that developed between a white Mississippi funeral director and his bling bling hotshot Black attorney. Foxx’s high-energy performance as Willie E. Gary is also a total hoot, he’s a Florida personal injury attorney, an ambulance chaser, who unabashedly flashes his colourful $10,000 suits and jewelry. He even owns a private jet named “Wings of Justice.”
Jones’ World War II veteran, Jeremiah O’Keefe, is his polar opposite. He’s looking to sell a portion of the family business he inherited from his father, but is hoodwinked by funeral home mogul Ray Loewen (Bill Camp) trying to screw him over.
Soon Heremiah gets the idea of hiring Foxx’s attorney to try the case in a majority Black county which means it will primarily be composed of a black jury. Loewen hears about that and hires his own black attorney, Jurnee Smollett plays the fictional Mame Downes — who clerked for Sandra Day O’Connor.
While we can guess what the outcome of the trial will be, this is the Jamie Foxx show. The anticlimactic ending, not to mention thin supporting characters, can’t stop this blazing turn from the talented actor. Foxx is vibrant, hilarious and it’s one of the best performances of his career.
I should warn you: based on everything I’ve heard, this teaser is a total misdirection. The movie is not at all what it’s being portrayed as here. In fact, most of the footage in the teaser comes from the first few minutes of the film.