Willie E. Gary (Jamie Foxx; Ray) was born in Georgia and grew up poor as the son of a sharecropper. He went to college on a football scholarship and then became a lawyer. He became a prominent attorney in Florida and had a record of, not only winning every case he took, but in most cases, he got multi-million awards for his clients. He is well known for taking on Disney and winning $240 million for his clients and in 1995, he successfully represented Jeremiah Joseph O'Keefe (Tommy Lee Jones; The Fugitive) a Mississippi funeral home owner, against The Loewen Group over a contract dispute. The Burial, a film based on that court case, premieres this week on Prime Video.
The O'Keefe Funeral home had been in the family for generations and had eight locations, as well as a burial insurance company. After making a few bad investments, Jeremiah was visited by the State regulators who threatened to suspend his insurance license since the money he lost was from his clients' burial insurance contracts. Seeing no other way to keep his family's legacy, he makes a business agreement with Canadian burial conglomerate owner, Ray Loewen (Bill Camp; 12 Years A Slave ). However, when it becomes apparent that Loewen is stalling and O'Keefe is falling further and further into debt, O'Keefe decides to sue for breach of contract even though the actual contract was never signed by Loewen.
Co-writer/director Maggie Betts (The Carrier) peppers an intense courtroom drama, which is based on a true story, with good old-fashioned morals and values. She layers the film with the heated moments of a legal battle on top of the underlying sense of history (especially slavery) and families that are some of the foundations of this country, especially in the Deep South. Her visuals, most notably the slave burial land, have hidden meanings that are meant to foster an understanding of those who were/are oppressed and how the past molds the people living today.
The cast is excellent, taking Betts, Doug Wright (Quills), and Jonathan Harr's (A Civil Action) words and transforming them into a range of emotions. Foxx and Jones (who is looking old) have a connection that translates onscreen to represent the bond Gary and O'Keefe forged in real life, Camp is wholly unlikable portraying the Multi-millionaire who prays on the little guy, all under the guise of "business". Jurnee Smollett (Birds of Prey) plays the well-educated, tough-as-nails, opposing counsel with grace and calmness that belies the python hidden under the surface just waiting to strike. Relative newcomer, Mamoudou Athie (Jurassic World Dominion) and veteran actors, Alan Ruck (Ferris Bueller's Day Off) and Pamela Reed (Kindergarten Cop) round out the cast nicely.
The Burial is a story that is fairly typical of a courtroom drama and doesn't pretend to be reinventing the wheel. The movie is compelling and Betts keeps it moving at a fairly steady pace, with help from the actors. The costumes offer a glimpse 1990s fashion from the flashy attire of the dynamic Gary to the corporate, clean, crisp, sterile wardrobe of Smollett's attorney to the small town grey/tan suits of older, southern, white males. Each look helps define who the character is and seems to have been useful for the actors to build their characters around.
Almost everyone loves a good underdog story when Davis slew the Goliath and this one takes its plot from real life which simply adds another layer of authenticity to the movie. It also has a few lessons to teach the audience and manages to do so without being overly "preachy".
It's a feel-good movie at a time when I think we all could probably use one.
Grade: B+
