Bernie

Sky customers are probably aware that every week, Sky Movies premiers several relatively recent releases for their viewers on their Premier channel. Every week there is always a very commercially successful blockbuster (this week in question it was sci-fi flick After Earth, which I have seen and enjoyed and may potentially write about here at a later date). Yet there are also a couple of less known films, independent films or "indie films". Now I like a good mainstream film don't get me wrong, but I feel that it is important to keep an open mind with these things, and thus I was rewarded this week with the self confessed "black comedy" Bernie.

I feel it is also important to state right now that, broadly speaking, I do not really go for American comedy on our screens, both TV and Film. Often I don't really understand why it's supposed to be funny, I don't engage with it and I don't follow it, more often than not preferring British humour and comedy. There are a few exceptions I freely admit; most notably in the realms of TV sitcom the successful show The Big Bang Theory, which I am now a firm fan of, along with a couple of films. I enjoyed Bernie immensely and did find it funny in places, but that is only one facet of it's greatly layered charm in my view.

In quick summary, Bernie follows the story of how the titular character Bernie Tiede, who is a Texas mortician and also an incredibly giving, and caring man, is gradually engulfed by tough and aggressive widow Mrs Nugent, resulting in a community tragedy which shakes Bernie, and all those involved within his life and community.

Jack Black plays the titular character, and in my view he is utterly brilliant. His voice (speaking and singing!), his mannerisms, his speech, his charisma, and just the entire way he embodies Bernie, throughout every single scene he features in, is done masterfully. Bernie and Black's performance garnered acclaim from audiences and critics, but in my view not nearly enough. I would gladly go as far as to say that Jack Black should have been nominated for an Oscar.
The domineering, even evil, Mrs Nugent, is played by screen legend Shirley MacLaine. Again another great performance. Yet here I feel here it is slightly one-dimensional. Without wishing to give too much away, Mrs Nugent's story is integral to Bernie's, and whilst the relationship between the two is incredibly watchable, you do get the feeling that their is more to give from one side of it. Indeed, as well as acclaim, there are some (who I shall reveal slightly later) who say Mrs Nugent's side of the story is not fully told at all; an opinion which I do think is valid. Also, whilst it is true MacLaine's reputation is legendary, and indeed her performance is good here, it is almost...what's the word? Expected? Cliched? Again this is where I feel they have gone slightly wrong in not going deep enough with her character development. If a few more layers were added to Mrs Nugent's persona, which I truly don't think would have been difficult to do, then this character, like Bernie, would have been much more interesting to watch too.
The other star turn is that of Matthew McConaughey, who in recent years has tried to shake off thoroughly his romcom routes, and he definitely does it here, in a performance that whilst comedic, is far from light entertainment.

As for the rest of the characters, director Richard Linklater (who has collaborated successfully with Jack Black previously with films such as School of Rock) decided to have the Texan townsfolk of small town Carthage, play themselves. That's right, not immediately apparent to me when starting with this film, it turns out that it is based upon a true story. For me this was quite a revelation. To have watched a film that is so remarkable (again without wanting to divulge too much) and then to find out that it was a series of real events that happened to real people, many of whom appeared in the film themselves. Whilst on some levels this struck me as genius, it did present some issues. Firstly, as mentioned earlier, the people upon the film is based are naturally going to have input into it, and are going to have an opinion about the finished product. This was apparently mixed, the general consensus either being a hopeful aspiration for tourism boosts, or else a healthy dislike for the film. This does not bode well, in terms of authenticity. I stand by what I say when I declare Bernie a great film in my view, but in terms of knowing it is actually based on true events, the roots of this film seem slightly suspect to me. Then there is also the manner in which the people of Carthage are portrayed, and used toward the story, in Bernie. In many ways it means an incredibly authentic, true-to-life film. But at the back of my mind upon reflection, it also smacks slightly of artfully twisted exploitation, and dramatically I feel there are moments when the film is let down by too much of the "every day", in essence losing it's way briefly through the narrative. That is why I suspect stars such as Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine and Matthew McConaughey play the three lead characters (otherwise we would have a docu-drama, or even just a Hollywood documentary) and it certainly does help. What also gets me, is that right at the end, in the credits no less, we get a shot of the real life Bernie, in the same position we see the fictional Bernie in at the film's end (again really trying to resist spoilers!) opposite Jack Black in discussion. Again I feel this is a genius, touching, master stroke in many ways, but I also feel that it could be construed as a bit callous. Watch the film, you'll get what I mean.

Indeed, watch the film. For whatever faults Bernie has, I enjoyed it thoroughly, and I defy anyone not to watch it and feel the same. That is due a lot to Jack Black's wonderful portrayal of Bernie himself, but if that is a dominant feature, it doesn't matter surely? The end result of a truly and greatly individual film is what counts, which in my view, Bernie surely is.