Bernie

It’s
easy to see why filmmaker Richard Linklater (School Of Rock, Dazed And Confused) was drawn to the true-crime story of Bernie Tiede, a selfless and
beloved mortician in Carthage, TX, who murdered Marjorie Nugent, the meanest
old lady in town. It’s just not clear what point the filmmaker was trying to
make with this breezy and mordantly comedic docu-drama.

With
its quirky characters and cultural specificity, comparisons to the Coen
Brothers’ Fargo will be inevitable. But Linklater’s approach is as
ambling and endearing as its sunny East Texas setting, a far cry from the
snarky genre deconstructions and eccentric morality plays that populate the
Coens’ work. Instead, Bernie plays like In Cold Blood — if it had
been directed by Christopher Guest.

Bernie
(Jack Black), is a sweet-natured, ambiguously gay assistant funeral
director known for comforting the bereaved, singing at the local church, and
volunteering at just about every community function (from directing musical
theater to coaching little league to helping locals with their tax returns).
With his stubby mustache, high-waisted pants, and endless positivity, everyone
is charmed — including the recently widowed Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine).
A nasty but rich old woman, Bernie offers her companionship and ends up her
most-trusted confidante. The upside is that Bernie gets to partake in her
wealth, traveling the world and even learning to fly. The downside is that
Marjorie becomes unbearably demanding, abusive, and possessive. This drives
Bernie to impulsively shoot her in the back four times, stuff her body in the
freezer, and start lying about her absence — as he spends down her fortune,
mostly by giving gifts and donations to members of the community.

Inspired
by an article written by Skip Hollandsworth (who co-wrote the screenplay with
Linklater) for Texas Monthly, Linklater, who said he was interested in
creating “a movie told from the perspective of a group of gossips,” makes the
fascinating choice to regularly cut away from the film’s action to interview
the real-life residents of Carthage. Guileless, opinionated, and frequently
hilarious, their presence almost creates a meta-narrative, one that forensically
examines the community rather than the crime.

Unfortunately,
the approach doesn’t quite work. Instead of letting the story expand and deepen
our understanding of Bernie and Marjorie, Linklater mostly echoes what we’re
told by the townsfolk while diligently dramatizing the facts of the case. As a
result, the story loses momentum when it should be building some level of
intrigue or suspense. After all, Bernie spent the better part of a year looking
over his shoulder. More disappointingly, Linklater barely acknowledges the
collective impact of class and culture on this Bible Belt community’s psyche,
even as both clearly test the tall walls of Southern civility.

Trickier
still is that the movie, like the people of Carthage, is more sympathetic to
the murderer than the victim. Local D.A. Danny Buck Davidson, played with
laid-back brio by Matthew McConaughey, tries to remind his neighbors (and the
audience) that murder is murder, no matter how unpleasant the victim was. His
arguments fall on deaf ears, forcing him to relocate the trial to a town less
sympathetic to the killer.

Black
gives a beautifully disciplined and sincere performance, portraying Bernie as
an exquisitely mannered eccentric who is completely unaware of his
unconventional nature. Affable and empathetic, he never wavers in his
commitment to character. And much like the rest of the film, never gives us a
peak inside, keeping everything opaque and on the surface.

What
made Bernie attracted to Marjorie in the first place? What made him snap? How
did he manage to deceive so many people? No one in the community or on the film
seems sure. And that’s where Bernie comes up short. Because as bright,
funny, and genial as Linklater’s film is, it’s never curious or impolite enough
to hint at an answer.

Showing at the Landmark Main Art Theatre, 118 N. Main St., Royal Oak; 248-263-2111.

This article appears in May 23-29, 2012.