Film: The Burial
Director: Maggie Betts
Cast: Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones, Jurnee Smollett, Alan Ruck, Mamoudou Athie and Pamela Reed
Nonika Singh
The opening scene is dramatic enough, set in a black Church where Jamie Foxx delivers an impassioned speech… The relevance of the first scene is lost for a moment, as the drama shifts to a courtroom. It unveils much later in the screenplay written by Doug Wright and the director, Maggie Betts. With an actor of colour, Jamie Foxx, as the lead, you believe it’s yet another story of racial discrimination. Sure enough racial prejudices run as an undercurrent all through and Betts, an African-American herself, makes a solid point.
But The Burial is essentially an engaging courtroom drama where the David versus Golaith, the underdog versus a giant corporation plays out with élan. Willie E. Gary (Jamie Foxx) is a flamboyant lawyer who lives life king-size and has a private jet, which he calls Wings of Justice. His track record is enviable, as he has not lost a case in 12 years.
Interestingly, until Jeremiah O’Keefe aka Jerry (Tommy Lee Jones) approaches him, he has never had a white client either. Money makes him go and though he is not easily convinced to fight Jerry’s case, he comes on board as he is made to see megabucks of multi-billion dollar Loewen Group. A few missteps and Jerry is not only forced to replace him as lead attorney, but also drop the case. But, Gary stays on for fair play and to ensure a fair deal for his client.
Inspired by true events, a New Yorker article by Jonathan Harr, the film has all it takes; from dramatic flourish to biting legal sparring, from case preps to courtroom battles. The two opposing lawyers, both men of colour, are literally living the American dream.
Jurnee Smollett, as Mame Downes, the defense attorney, is as much an epitome of how far you can come up, never mind your racial background. But does that change the reality for poor and vulnerable community?
The plot nudges us to look in that direction. The deal which Loewen group brokers with National Baptist Convention, which enabled him to buy NBC’s graveyards and use church workers as salespersons is a case in point. There is a bit which talks about the history of Black American people. As the lines go, “It’s like taking one man’s legacy, putting it on top of another, till one day it gets buried down so deep, can’t no one ever find it anymore.” But, the narrative never becomes too preachy or weepy.
Funeral services are big in America and there are sharks trying to exploit people in their hours of grief. Yes, Jerry too is a funeral service provider and the fight is about how big fish swallows the smaller one. To make a film on something as dour as breach of contract is a tall order. Why even Gary says — ‘with our arguments we are putting the jury to sleep’. But not even a single moment in the film is yawn-inducing. Much credit goes to Foxx for keeping us invested. He galvanises the narrative with his ‘over the top’ and charming persona, who orders champagne for his adversaries, tries to woo the jury with his wisecracks and even dares to put his client Jerry in the witness box.
When he manages to stump Ray Loewen (suitably frazzled Bill Camp), it reminds you of Few Good Men. Only the cross-examination scenes, especially the way Gary underlines the company’s astronomical profit figure are truly delectable. Tommy Lee Jones’ restraint is a perfect foil to Foxx’s histrionics. The dimpled beauty, Jurnee Smollett plays the tough and bright adversary, and fights Gary with as much dramatic and passionate fervour. Yes, indeed, race can influence court decisions, a reason why both parties go in for Black lawyers. Mamoudou Athie as Hal Dockins, an upcoming lawyer, understands this dynamics and is the one who influences Jerry to hire Gary in the first place.
Ultimately what clinches the deal is evidence, the truth, testimonies and the dismal reality of greedy big corporates, which certainly includes bias and exploitation. Feeling good… hums Jerry when he declines the massive settlement offer and the film certainly falls in the bracket of feel-good movies. But, this is no hollow or superficial entertainment. To see the multibillion dollar death care industry owned by Loewen exposed and made to pay through its nose is both illuminating and heartening. And as an Indian viewer a grim reminder as well a wistful wish; if only this could come true for India too, where defaulting corporates often go scot-free. Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, The Burial actually digs deep to unearth unsavoury truths rather engagingly.
