• Post category:Movies
  • Post last modified:August 17, 2021

Bernie

A STORY SO UNBELIEVABLE IT MUST BE TRUE.

bernieIn Carthage, Texas, a local mortician (Jack Black) becomes a companion to a much older, wealthy and generally disliked woman (Shirley MacLaine); when she disappears, the town’s sympathies are not necessarily with her. Richard Linklater based his black comedy on a newspaper article (written by Skip Hollandsworth), that chronicled an actual murder case that divided a town. There’s a faux documentary feel to it, with “interviews” where locals offer their view, and the story’s framed by cute little chapters. Very entertaining, with a brilliant Black performance; Matthew McConaughey is good as a prosecutor, and MacLaine could obviously play her part in the sleep.

2012-U.S. 98 min. Color. Produced by Liz Glotzer, Richard Linklater, Dete Meserve, David McFadzean, Judd Payne, Celine Rattray, Martin Shafer, Ginger Sledge, Matt Williams. Directed by Richard Linklater. Screenplay: Richard Linklater, Skip Hollandsworth. Cast: Jack Black (Bernie Tiede), Shirley MacLaine (Marjorie Nugent), Matthew McConaughey (Danny Buck), Brady Coleman, Richard Robichaux, Rick Dial. 

Trivia: One of the women featured in the interview segments is played by McConaughey’s mother. In May 2014, the real-life Tiede was released early; one of the conditions stipulated that he must live with Linklater for a time.

Last word: “Bernie is loved for his singing voice in East Texas. He traveled all over the world with his singing group. He was at Carnegie Hall. He has this amazing voice. There are still people in Carthage, at their funerals, they hit a button and play a recording of Bernie. So that’s how much he’s beloved. So how many actors can sing that well? I knew that Jack had that voice, so it was a big element. Who else could do it? Other than that, I just thought it would be great to work with Jack again. So I sent it to him and just hoped he would find Bernie intriguing the way I always had.” (Linklater, Indiewire)

 

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