Anyway, to combat this, I've turned Friday nights into something to look forward to by treating myself to movie night. I pop some popcorn, pour myself a big ole glass of diet Pepsi and settle in for a couple of hours of something fun. I tend go on spurts with the types of movies I watch: sometimes I want to see classics that, for some reason or another, I've never seen before. That led to four straight weeks of Rocky movies (I had heard enough about Rocky V to stop there). Right now, with the Golden Globes next week and the Oscars a few more weeks away, my goal is to see movies that have any sort of buzz about them at all. This is kind of limiting, since most of those movies are in the theaters now, or in that mysterious limbo netherworld that movies go to when they're between theaters and DVDs. But a few have been released on DVD, so that's where I went.
This week: Bernie
I have no recollection of this movie being released at all. Was it in theaters? Did I black out for a few months? I didn't even notice it on the Golden Globes ballot, although, to be fair, my bizarre crush on Jessica Lange had me a little bit distracted (SISTER JUDE, I LOVE EVERYTHING THAT YOU ARE). Anyway, I first heard about it in this Oscar nomination preview by Boston Globe and Grantland movie critic Wesley Morris, and even then I didn't believe him. Morris admitted that he didn't like the Oscars and didn't really care who was nominated or who won, but he was a movie critic so he had to make his picks. So when he said it had a chance to be nominated for Best Picture or for Jack Black to get nominated for Best Actor, I thought it was possible he was being sarcastic. I mean, really? Jack Black? Some weird comedy by the guy from School of Rock that I've never heard of? Sure, and Ben Affleck is a really good director, amirite?
The title character of Bernie is an assistant funeral director in the small East Texas town of Carthage, the type of place where everybody knows everybody and their business. The town is real; the events are real. I think that's what makes this movie so powerful. If this was someone's overactive imagination, it would be just weird and crazy, but it's true and so it's even weirder and crazier. Anyway, Bernie is outgoing, charming and effeminate and quickly excels at his job. Not only can he perform a funeral, he can stand in for the organist, the choir, and missing family members. He's particularly adept at consoling the little old ladies who find themselves alone after their husbands' passing.
Bernie makes a particular connection with Marjorie, an extremely wealthy and extremely mean lady recently widowed by her bank-owning husband. As much as Bernie is loved by the folks in Carthage, Marjorie is disliked and feared. But Bernie isn't dissuaded and Marjorie, for a time at least, enjoys his company. They go on trips together around the world. She comes to trust him more than anyone and soon writes her estranged son and grandchildren out of the will in favor of him.
At some point, however, things change. Marjorie becomes controlling and mean and angry; she makes Bernie's life a living hell until one day, he snaps and shoots her four times in the back. Then he shoves her body in a freezer and doesn't tell anyone. That goes on for almost a year. He tells everyone she's sick and doesn't want anyone to see her that way; her personality and reputation is as such where nobody really questions it. Meanwhile, Bernie begins spending all of Marjorie's money, but not for himself. While he lives in a rundown house and misses loan payments on his crappy car, he uses Marjorie's money to finance new wings on churches, buy other townspeople cars and Jet Skis, and more.
Eventually, Marjorie's body is discovered when her money manager and her family get suspicious. The strangest part of the whole story, other than the whole story, is that the townspeople so loved Bernie and so hated Marjorie that they harassed the district attorney prosecuting the case. They actually had to hold the hearing in another town in order to get a fair trial because nobody would convict him. A 30-something-year-old man murders an 80-something-year-old woman in cold blood and remains the most beloved member of the community.
The story is obviously a strange one (and yet, still true), but the way the story is told is even more unique. Rather than straight narration, it is more like a documentary or even more like a true-crime television show. The whole story is told via interviews with local folks from the town. And the kicker? They are actual townspeople. They're not actors. And they're amazing.
As I watched the movie, I couldn't tell if I liked it or not. Even afterward, I wondered if it was too weird or too dark or too pointless. But in reality, I have to say I did really like this movie. It's a unique story, told in a unique way. It's a dark subject portrayed in an almost bright-and-sunny manner. And it's true: Jack Black is tremendous as Bernie. His mannerisms and acting (not to mention singing) throughout are great, but his reaction to his shooting Marjorie is absolutely fabulous - one of those I can't believe what I've done...now this is what I have to do to hide it moments. I doubt he'll win, but I can see why he was nominated for a Golden Globe.
No comments:
Post a Comment