‘The Burial’ On Amazon Prime Video Movie Review: Jamie Foxx Steals The Show With His High-On-Energy Performance

‘The Burial’: Cast & Crew

Director: Maggie Betts

Cast: Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones, Jurnee Smollett, Alan Ruck, Mamoudou Athie, Pamela Reed, Bill Camp, Amanda Warren, Dorian Missick, Lance E. Nichols, Billy Slaughter

Available On: Amazon Prime Video

Duration: 2 Hours 6 Minutes

‘The Burial’: Story

In 1995, Willie E. Gary (Jamie Foxx), an unconventional personal injury lawyer with an impressive track record, helps financially troubled funeral home owner Jeremiah Joseph O'Keefe (Tommy Lee Jones) sue a large funeral home company, the Loewen Group, over a contractual dispute. Inspired by true events, when the handshake deal goes sour, the funeral home owner Jeremiah O’Keefe enlists charismatic attorney Willie E. Gary to save his family business. Tempers flare and laughter ensue as the unlikely pair bond while exposing corporate corruption and racial injustice in this inspirational, triumphant story. Will the two be able to take over such a huge firm? Will the two end up in their own personal dispute? Will there be more skeletons that will come out from the cupboards? Well, for all that, you’ll have to watch ‘The Burial’.

‘The Burial’: Performances

Jamie Foxx brings his characteristic shmooze into the performance and he blows you away with his impeccable comic timing and funny antics. He not only has understood the character really well, but he has also given the body language a persona of itself. That makes the performance shine even brighter.

Tommy Lee Jones is dealt a bad hand. It’s not that he has performed badly, but there isn’t too much meat in the character for an Oscar winner like him. Barring a couple of scenes towards the climax, his performance is pretty much a downer in comparison to the boisterous act of Jamie Foxx. While it’s the requirement of the character that he be that way, but still his character could have been given a lot more dialogue, which would have showcased his character’s emotional state of mind far better.

The rest of the supporting cast has definitely performed their parts decently. Jurnee Smollett and Bill Camp stand out even if their characters have less screen time.

‘The Burial’: Script, Direction & Technical Aspects

The writing by Doug Wright and Maggie Betts adapted from Jonathan Harr’s novel ‘The Burial’ is pretty much the best thing about the film. They’ve not made it entirely a courtroom drama with legal jargon thrown at the drop of a hat. They make sure that the outflow of emotions outside the courtroom in real-life situations takes the story forward more than what’s happening inside the courtroom. Taking that decision takes courage and it’s commendable that they’ve kept the fun intact in the story and not made it sound oh-so-serious and drab.

Maggie Betts’ direction is decent. Courtroom dramas are usually high on energy with lots of adrenaline-pumping scenes. She, however, decided to take the road less taken. She has shown the story as real as possible. She took lesser cinematic liberties which showed in the way the scenes were placed, and she ensured that the actors did a bit of personal fumbles, which made the characters feel even more real.

Maryse Alberti’s cinematography is kind of a downer in the entire scheme of things. While he has tried to show his prowess behind the camera in the outdoor scenes, but those scenes are far and few between. So, his actual talent came to work in the indoor scenes and they all seemed quite pre-set. There was hardly any innovative camerawork which would draw you right into the heart of the story.

Lee Percy and Jay Cassidy could have been a lot tighter with their editing. There are a few long-drawn scenes which could have been chopped a little, which would’ve eventually reduced the film’s timing to under 2 hours.

Michael Abels’s music is good. His background score helps you get deeper and deeper into the storyline.

‘The Burial’: Can Kids Watch It?

Yes

Outlook’s Verdict

‘The Burial’ is a soft and subtle story which comes on with a huge heart. The feel-good factor makes the story stand out. The performances bring out the juice in the story even better. Even though it’s based on a real-life incident that has already been documented in the book of the same name and people know the entire incident very well, still there are things in Maggie Betts’ film that are unpredictable and give you that kick. Overall, it’s definitely a Breezy One Time Watch. I am going with 3.5 stars.