Bernie
Angleika Film Center, May 20, 2012
Movie #20 for 2012
Bernie was nothing so much as disappointing. I liked so much of the idea of it - RICHARD LINKLATER (his
latest, Me and Orson Welles was one
of my faves of 2010) directs a subdued JACK BLACK in and a true and surprising
story. But the execution was bland and awkward.
Bernie (black, pictured) is a small town
undertaker who is well liked for both his professional talents and personal
charms. He is friendly to everyone, even the crotchety widow who hates, and is
hated by, everyone in town (SHIRLEY MCLAIN). The film ends surprisingly, and yet, inevitably, in her
murder.
I feel uncomfortable with
films that blend fact and fiction, like the embellishments of historical
fiction and biopics (don't get me started on Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter) or like Bernie, where
Linklater blends documentary and re-enactment. He has the real life townsfolk do candid documentary interviews,
but he also uses actors to do scripted documentary-style interviews too. And he uses the townsfolk in the
re-enactments. It’s an interesting
idea to blur the lines between retelling and recreation (again, it’s all about the
good ideas), but every time an actor
does a to-camera interview, or every time a townsperson acts, I was pulled out
of the flow of the film by its awkwardness. I like that Linklater tried it out, though, even though it
failed to produce anything more than a tepid, increasingly boring and awkward
movie.
At least one and a half of those stars is
for MATTHEW MCCONNAGHEY. He’s
freaking golden.
