The Burial
Tommy Lee Jones and Jamie Foxx are perfectly matched in a courtroom drama based on a real-life case.
A case in point: Tommy Lee Jones and Jamie Foxx
This is an attractive example of mainstream cinema that knows how to entertain and its appeal is enhanced by the fact that it functions on two levels. On the surface it plays in essence as belonging to that traditional category of cinema that is the courthouse drama. As such its attraction is all the stronger for being based on an actual court case. It was one that took place in Mississippi in 1995 and which saw an ordinary citizen, Jerry O'Keefe, taking on a big corporation run by Ray Loewen (he had become a Canadian billionaire). Consequently this is a David vs. Goliath story that causes the audience to root eagerly for the little man.
The case arose because Loewen reneged on an agreed deal with O'Keefe, the owner of a funeral home business, and Loewen’s behaviour put its future in doubt (O’Keefe had encountered financial difficulties and needed to overcome them through a partial sale if he were to be able to pass on the rest of the concern to his family). Add that Jerry is played by that most sympathetic of actors Tommy Lee Jones and that the role of the awful Loewen goes to Bill Camp, always a good baddie, and it is apparent that The Burial has a lot going for it.
Nevertheless, that is only half the story because having a second level makes the film even more attractive. The court hearing, one involving a jury, took place in an area known for its African-American inhabitants and that led to both parties to the action choosing to be represented by attorneys who were themselves African-American. In Jerry's case it meant seeking the services of the well-established and wealthy Willie E. Gary and The Burial becomes a film in which we are rooting for him as much as for Jerry. Gary’s overtly theatrical manner in court ensures that this is a great role for Jamie Foxx and the style contrast in the performances of Foxx and Jones far from being a weakness adds to our pleasure. For that matter, the screenplay – one that although based on historical facts is quite ready to embellish them – offers us yet another figure to admire. He is again African-American and this is a young lawyer and a family friend of the O’Keefe’s played with real assurance by Mamoudou Athie. This man plays an important role in the tale and is also a useful figure with whom younger viewers might well feel invested. As for Loewen’s choice of attorney, as seen here it is an African-American woman named Mame Downes played by Jurnee Smollett but I understand that this character is to some extent fictional. The film presents her as a strong woman and a formidable attorney, one who engagingly spars with Gary before the hearing but who is, of course, to be seen as the enemy once the court is in session.
The Burial is the second feature by Maggie Betts whose direction is distinctly assured throughout. The film also gains from being very well structured in the way that we are introduced to the characters, learn something of their history and then see how events lead up to that court battle. Later on it so happens that the Christian denomination known as the National Baptist Convention, itself primarily African-American, becomes relevant to the story in a direct way. Elsewhere, however, The Burial is a work in which racist attitudes, whether blatant or not, provide a telling background to the events depicted. They do so to the extent that it is this element that represents the film’s second level: it is always present, be it felt as something in the air or seen as something more overt (the latter applies, for example, in scenes featuring the lawyer Mike Allred played by Alan Ruck). The film is on strong ground here because this aspect is never heavy-handedly self-conscious and that makes it all the more effective. In addition the film adds to its awareness of social issues by having some trenchant things to say about the death care industry in America.
In recommending The Burial as a good night out, I should nevertheless acknowledge that I am choosing to ignore one issue that comes to the surface in the film’s second half. Some of the statements heard in the court strike me as going far beyond what would have been allowed and for that matter there is one moment when things are going badly for O'Keefe and the situation is rescued by new evidence turning up dead on cue to save the day. For myself I find such touches smack too much of the fictional but, as with thrillers that relish offering an over-the-top climax, this seems to be a matter of taste with most audiences ready to go along with it. Watching The Burial one feels that the film is so appealingly set up and builds such a head of steam that most audiences will readily accept the elements which I regret. Either way Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones are, somewhat unexpectedly, a duo to relish and, indeed, the whole cast are on fine form.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Jamie Foxx, Jurnee Smollett, Mamoudou Athie, Alan Ruck, Bill Camp, Pamela Reed, Amanda Warren, Dorian Crossmond Missick, Lance E. Nichols, Erika Robel, Tywayne Wheatt.
Dir Maggie Betts, Pro Celine Rattray, Jenette Kahn, Trudie Styler, Jamie Foxx, Robert Shriver and others, Screenplay Doug Wright and Maggie Betts, from Doug Wright’s story based on the article in The New Yorker by Jonathan Harr, Ph Maryse Alberti, Pro Des Kay Lee, Ed Lee Percy and Jay Cassidy, Music Michael Abels, Costumes Mirren Gordon-Crozier.
Amazon Studios/Bobby Shriver Productions/Double Nickel Entertainment/Foxxhole Productions/Maven Screen Media-Met Film Distribution.
126 mins. USA. 2023. UK Rel and US Rel: 6 October 2023. Cert. 15.
