I’m not alone in expressing my disappointment that we hardly ever see any good mid-budget movies for grownups these days, the kind that Hollywood used to turn out just as standard practice. And so, I should also note my appreciation when one does come along—The Burial is a crowd-pleasing courtroom drama with plenty of comedy, featuring two magnificent performances from real movie stars.
Tommy Lee Jones is a funeral home owner in Mississippi who’s in financial trouble and is offered the chance to sell part of his business to a Canadian corporation. He agrees, but then the corporation drags its feet, putting Jones in a major bind. So, he decides to sue for breach of contract, hiring a glitzy personal injury lawyer played by Jamie Foxx. Foxx is enormously successful at the personal injury stuff, but contract law is a whole new thing.
The movie is based on real events, which adds some extra drama and some extra satisfaction when it’s all said and done, though it also produces some exasperated resignation on our parts as the case proves to be yet another in which a huge corporation exploits the most vulnerable people. Jamie Foxx reminds us again of his otherworldly charisma, while Jones goes the other direction and shows how magnetic he can be with a much quieter, more inward performance. And director Maggie Betts’ use of the camera is occasionally exciting, particularly when Foxx is doing his thing, as our point of view swoops around the actor.
The Burial is far more successful as courtroom entertainment than as an investigation of corporate malfeasance—I couldn’t help but think of other movies like Dark Waters and The Insider that did that side of things better, and there’s one scene that’s almost entirely awkward exposition that felt jarring. But it is good entertainment, and it’s exactly the sort of thing many of us wish Hollywood would make a dozen more of every year.
The Burial is on Amazon Prime Video.
