The versatile Richard Linklater (Before Sunrise, Dazed and Confused) surprises us with another gem of a comedy. Imagine this: Jack Black, acting all fey and playing against type as Bernie Tiede, the real-life assistant funeral home director in Texas, who was convicted for first-degree murder of much detested wealthy widow Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine) in 1996.
There were rumors that Bernie might not be straight, even though he maintained a lengthy relationship with Marjorie over the years. After more than a decade of delays, this offbeat black comedy that stays true to the story’s bizarreness is certainly the indie film to beat this year (Wes Anderson’s upcoming Moonrise Kingdom is number two).
With a soft vowel lisp and a gentle mincing demeanor that never quite blossom into a swishy gay caricature, Black is a hoot. He deftly captures Bernie’s endearing desire to be loved and appreciated through a life of incessantly helping others (with a little wink in the eye). With manners as dainty and precise as his always pressed clothes, Bernie was neither a kook nor a fraud but a paragon of Christian piety and goodwill. Black rightly makes the character’s genuineness the core of his performance.
MacLaine is in top form here, capturing Marjorie’s dourness and contemptuousness with a certain vulnerability that is utterly compelling. Perhaps she was so widely hated that Bernie gave her special attention to the point that he eventually became her business manager and constant companion. He travelled around the world with her and attended to her every need, including ironing her underwear and providing pedicures to the old lady. Then the inevitable happened. Bernie snapped, shooting Marjorie in the back four times with a .22 rifle.
Linklater took a gamble with the usually histrionic Black and it has paid off big time (remember Jim Carrey in The Truman Show?). The director’s narrative choice of creating head-and-shoulder shot interviews with actors playing various Carthage locals (all cast from East Texas, including Carthage itself) played out so real that they look like actual documentary interviews as opposed to scripted scenes. That lends an extra edge to an already dark and gritty comedy laced with an ingenious treatment and overall masterful performances.
If only more comedies looked and felt so real, comfortable and lived-in.