36/38
In a small Texas town, a nice mortician befriends a wealthy widow, but when she becomes controlling, he struggles to free himself from her grip. Real-life residents of Carthage, Texas who knew the real Bernie Tiede and Marjorie Nugent appear in the film, commenting on the events, answering an iPhone almost immediately after the murder. Townsman: [speaking of Marjorie Nugent] She’d chew your ass off the first time she dropped. I mean, she’d tear your brand-new, three-bedroom, two-bathroom, double-wide asshole apart. No problem. Before the main cut, real-life photos of Bernie and Marjorie together are shown, along with a short video of Bernie Tiede talking to Jack Black at 1:39 (99 min) and another at 1:44 (104 min) (US). Featured on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Jack Black/New York City’s Meatball Shop Guys/Beirut (2012). Love Lifted MeWritten by James Rowe and Howard E. SmithPerformed by The Florida Boys Courtesy of World EntertainmentIn arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing. "Bernie" is a nice surprise from Richard Linklater and Jack Black – the same team that brought you the 2003 comedy hit "School of Rock"; now they’ve reunited for a different kind of comedy – dark. Black acts differently in this film – more restrained, more focused and at times more intense than in any other film he has done before. His humor here is understated and not a physical feat accomplished by his absorbing performance. This is the guy everyone loves – everyone has to love and can never say no. It’s both an interesting and challenging role for him, but he pulls it off brilliantly – perhaps paving the way for more challenging and dramatic roles in the future. Compared to other comedy actors who have tried their hand at more serious roles, he’s not quite as great as, say, Jim Carrey in “The Truman Show” or Adam Sandler in “Punch-Drunk Love.” Shirley MacLaine is also very different here – she’s had a sweet, slightly sassy personality in many of her previous films of late, but for this film there’s a cold, condescending aura around her, and her calm eyes sell it. Matthew McConaughey as the ruthless district attorney has certainly advanced his acting range – just look at the courtroom scenes. I really appreciate the film’s small-town setting. The film is told through ‘interviews’ with friendly small-town residents, giving the film a quaint and homely feel, while at the same time Linklater seamlessly weaves narrative flashbacks into it – which brings me to the editing. The film moves at a strong clip and never feels rushed or drawn out. The above-average script has the balance of just enough screen time to establish the story and characters, especially Bernie. Just when you think the movie is coming to an end – there’s always another interesting thing that happens that keeps the audience glued. Maybe Linklater will be the key to unlocking Black’s potential as an actor. Of course, this is still a ‘little’ movie – low budget, and barely any promotion… so hopefully the word gets out about how good this dark comedy is. P.S. I didn’t know the movie was based on a true story. That made the movie even darker and weirder than it should have been. Overall rating: 77%