‘The Burial’ Review: Jamie Foxx Gives New Meaning to Courtroom ‘Testimony’ in Rousing Legal Drama
12.09.2023 - 04:35
/ variety.com
Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic While it’s easy to imagine lawyers screaming “objection, your honor!” to the exaggerated courtroom theatrics of “The Burial,” good luck convincing audiences that this David v. Goliath legal showdown between a small-time Southern funeral home operator and an unethical Canadian billionaire should have played out any other way.
Demonstrating talents far beyond her 2017 indie debut, “The Novitiate,” director Maggie Betts has a rousing old-school crowd-pleaser on her hands with this truth-based (albeit strategically embellished) drama featuring the most entertaining performance yet from Jamie Foxx, who makes a day in court feel like going to church. Foxx plays Willie E.
Gary, a Southern Baptist personal injury lawyer who channels the spirit of evangelical preachers every time he practices law — hardly the counsel you’d expect Jeremiah “Jerry” O’Keefe (Tommy Lee Jones), a 75-year-old business owner in Biloxi, Miss., to represent him. But then, that unlikely partnership between a charismatic Black man and an unpredictable good ol’ boy is what makes the dynamic of “The Burial” more fun than “Green Book.” And though audiences might not realize it at first, prying into the multi-billion-dollar “death care” industry at the center of this particular case reveals a lot about social hierarchies work in the U.S.
The script, which Betts co-wrote with Doug Wright from a 1999 The New Yorker article, isn’t shy about playing the race card. In fact, you could say it’s juggling a full-blown poker tournament, dealing sharp observations on race, class and gender in respectful yet entertaining ways throughout.
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