Bernie

Another Linklater Triumph

text James Arthur Armstrong

Bernie

sing-along

filmOA | out now

Bernie is a great funeral director and a beloved member of the small town community of Carthage, Texas. He forms a close relationship with wealthy widowed Marjorie Nugent, who is considered by many to be an unpleasant member of the neighborhood. They quickly become joined at the hip and it isn’t long before Nugent takes advantage of Bernie’s good nature. After a while, Bernie becomes sapped of Nugent’s continual over-controlling nature and murders her. For nine months, Bernie makes the most of her poor reputation by building his own up and continuing to support local businesses with her money. Local attorney Danny Buck Davidson smells a rat is quickly on Bernie’s case.

If you’re familiar with Jack Black then he’s hardly noticeable in this role, and I’m not talking about his mustache. Black’s performance is his best to date. Gone are his crazy antics and out of control head movements. What we get is a driven and focused Black who delves deep into the mind of the real Bernie Tiede to deliver an account with substance.

Linklater has kept this film to a minimal configuration. It’s simple in it’s format, clean in it’s appearance and slick in it’s narrative. The story is given to you in an almost news report style with the talking-head footage giving the film it’s overall charm. What Linklater achieves most is by avoiding to take any moral position. There is room for you to feel some sorrow for Bernie.

Judging by the promotional material, Bernie has loosely been billed as a comedy. It’s not as funny as some previous Linklater films, in fact, it’s not really that funny. But that doesn’t take anything away from it’s allure. Bernie has so much more depth to it than just a few funny bits. It’s mysterious, heartfelt and eccentric.

Although the story is kind of predictable in terms of it’s conclusion, that certainly doesn’t steal away from the entertainment. A strong script and great depth to the characters make this film a deceitful yet seductive love letter of guilt. filmOA end logo