The Burial is based on the true story of an embattled funeral-home underdog taking on Big "Death Care". So no-one can honestly complain that they were disappointed by a predictable outcome.
Unfortunately, the story of Willie Gary's impassioned prosecution of the unscrupulous and discriminatory practices of the Loewen Group, (owned by a suitably reptilian Bill Camp), *was* disappointing. Where it should have been clarion and incisive, instead it felt disjointed and superficial.
With surer-handed screenwriting and less indulgent direction, the Burial might have been as inspirational and moving as Dark Water, but the script was never really convincing in the courtroom, and was either too frivolous or awkwardly misty-eyed out of it. It didn't help that - the "Black American Dream" aside - Gary's own ostentation was so antithetically conspicuous. That his wealth got more screentime than the very victims the Loewen group exploited struck me as counterproductive at best, and cynical at worst.
That said, Jamie Foxx and Tommy-lee Jones were both excellent, with a solid supporting cast, (especially Mamoudou Athie), and the actual story was still compelling, even if I felt it could have been better told.
Unfortunately, the story of Willie Gary's impassioned prosecution of the unscrupulous and discriminatory practices of the Loewen Group, (owned by a suitably reptilian Bill Camp), *was* disappointing. Where it should have been clarion and incisive, instead it felt disjointed and superficial.
With surer-handed screenwriting and less indulgent direction, the Burial might have been as inspirational and moving as Dark Water, but the script was never really convincing in the courtroom, and was either too frivolous or awkwardly misty-eyed out of it. It didn't help that - the "Black American Dream" aside - Gary's own ostentation was so antithetically conspicuous. That his wealth got more screentime than the very victims the Loewen group exploited struck me as counterproductive at best, and cynical at worst.
That said, Jamie Foxx and Tommy-lee Jones were both excellent, with a solid supporting cast, (especially Mamoudou Athie), and the actual story was still compelling, even if I felt it could have been better told.