The Burial (film)

The Burial is a 2023 American legal drama film directed by Maggie Betts and written by Betts and Doug Wright. It is loosely based on the true story of lawyer Willie E. Gary and his client Jeremiah Joseph O'Keefe's lawsuit against the Loewen funeral company, as documented in the 1999 New Yorker article of the same name by Jonathan Harr. It stars Jamie Foxx as Gary, Tommy Lee Jones as O'Keefe, Jurnee Smollett, Mamoudou Athie, and Bill Camp.

The Burial
Release poster
Directed byMaggie Betts
Screenplay by
Story byDoug Wright[1]
Based on"The Burial"
by Jonathan Harr
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyMaryse Alberti
Edited by
Music byMichael Abels
Production
companies
Distributed byAmazon Prime Video
Release dates
  • September 11, 2023 (2023-09-11) (TIFF)
  • October 6, 2023 (2023-10-06) (United States)
Running time
126 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$32.5 million[3]

It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2023, and was released by Amazon MGM Studios in a limited release on October 6, 2023, prior to streaming via Prime Video on October 13, 2023.

Plot

In 1995, financially troubled funeral home owner Jeremiah Joseph O'Keefe is forced to sell parts of his business to meet financial demands by the Mississippi State Insurance Commission. He makes a contract with Raymond Loewen of the Loewen Group, who never follow through on their oral agreement. His young lawyer Hal Dockins suggests that Loewen is intentionally trying to run O‘Keefe into bankruptcy to snatch up his entire business.

An enraged O'Keefe hires Willie E. Gary, a flashy Florida personal injury lawyer, at Dockins' suggestion, because he thinks that his white contract lawyer Mike Allred will be unable to convince the presumably black jury. Tensions between Allred and Gary rise when the latter is named lead attorney and refuses a settlement offer, instead raising it to $100 million. Upon receiving the offer, Loewen hires a black lawyer team fronted by Mame Downes for similar reasons.

In court, O'Keefe is cornered when Downes questions his character and points out his financial troubles stem from business deals with a now-convicted felon. Blaming Gary, O'Keefe replaces him with Allred as lead attorney. Dockins produces a valuable witness who insinuates that Loewen overcharges minority communities. Downes in turn questions Allred and reveals that his grandfather was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. When Gary stands up for Allred, his angered black legal team leaves him. Allred realizes he is too compromised and retracts from the case to give the team a higher chance to win.

Just when O'Keefe decides to drop the case, Dockins digs up a lead to the black National Baptist Church, revealing that the Loewen group in fact did exploit the church members to sell overpriced packages to other members of the black community. When Raymond Loewen is confronted with this in court and shows no remorse, the jury is swayed in O'Keefe's favor, awarding him $500 million in damages.

Cast

Production

The film is an adaptation of Jonathan Harr's article "The Burial", published in 1999 by The New Yorker.[12] In March 2018, Amazon Studios announced it was developing the film with Doug Wright writing the script and Alexander Payne in talks to direct.[13] By November 2020, Maggie Betts came on board to direct with Jamie Foxx attached to star and produce.[14] In October 2021, Tommy Lee Jones joined the cast in a role Harrison Ford was considered for.[15] In November, Jurnee Smollett was added to the cast.[5] Principal photography took place in New Orleans, starting in March 2022.[4][16][17][18]

Release

The Burial premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2023.[19][20] It was released by Amazon MGM Studios in a limited release on October 6, 2023, prior to streaming via Prime Video on October 13, 2023.[21]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 91% of 107 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's consensus reads: "A solid courtroom drama led by a pair of nicely contrasted performances, The Burial hits the expected genre beats -- and remains a crowd-pleasing treat at every turn."[22] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 74 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[23]

References
  1. "The Burial". Writers Guild of America West. September 6, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  2. "The Burial (15)". British Board of Film Classification. September 22, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  3. "Fastlane NextGen: Initial Certification Search" (Type "The Burial" in the search box). Louisiana Economic Development. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  4. Perez, Mary (March 8, 2022). "Tommy Lee Jones, Jamie Foxx to star in Amazon movie that tells the story of a Biloxi legend". Sun Herald. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  5. Donnelly, Matt (November 18, 2021). "Jurnee Smollett Joins Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones in Amazon's The Burial (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  6. Grobar, Matt (March 14, 2022). "Amazon Studios' Film The Burial Adds Succession's Alan Ruck". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  7. D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 1, 2022). "Jurassic World Dominion Star Mamoudou Athie Joins Amazon Studios' The Burial". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  8. Grobar, Matt (March 8, 2022). "The Burial: Dorian Missick, Pamela Reed, Amanda Warren & Jim Klock Round Out Cast Of Amazon Film". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  9. Grobar, Matt (February 10, 2022). "Amazon Studios Pic The Burial Adds The Queen's Gambit Actor Bill Camp". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  10. Grobar, Matt (May 4, 2022). "Universal's Bros Casts Jai Rodriguez; Amazon's The Burial Adds Lance E. Nichols". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  11. Grobar, Matt (March 29, 2022). "Billy Slaughter Joins Amazon's The Burial; Oppenheimer Adds Trond Fausa". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  12. Harr, Jonathan (October 24, 1999). "The Burial". The New Yorker. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  13. Fleming, Mike Jr. (March 14, 2018). "Alexander Payne In Talks For The Burial At Amazon Studios". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  14. Kroll, Justin (November 10, 2020). "Jamie Foxx To Produce And Star In The Burial For Amazon Studios With Maggie Betts Directing". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  15. Fleming, Mike Jr. (October 13, 2021). "Tommy Lee Jones To Star Opposite Jamie Foxx In Amazon's The Burial, Replacing His The Fugitive Co-Star Harrison Ford". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  16. Byrd, Jeff (March 10, 2022). "Jamie Foxx film in production is set in Jackson; also will star Tommy Lee Jones". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  17. Knowles, Lindsay (March 8, 2022). "New film to tell story of landmark case involving Coast funeral home and former Biloxi mayor". WLOX. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  18. Madden, Chelsea (March 17, 2022). "See Tommy Lee Jones, Jamie Foxx dressed like Old Biloxi money on set of new Amazon movie". Sun Herald. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  19. "The Burial". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  20. D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 24, 2023). "TIFF Lineup Unveiled Amid Strikes: Awards Contenders Dumb Money, The Holdovers, Rustin; Starry Pics For Sale With Scarlett Johansson, Kate Winslet, Michael Keaton, Viggo Mortensen & More". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  21. Scorziello, Sophia (September 7, 2023). "The Burial Trailer: Jamie Foxx Heads to Court as Tommy Lee Jones' Attorney". Variety. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  22. "The Burial". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  23. "The Burial". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
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