THE BURIAL

This is a David vs Goliath courtroom drama loosely based on a real legal case.  

The issue with any such film is its inherent predictability, because we know David is going to win, or why else make the film?

As we saw with ‘Erin Brockovich’ this problem is not insuperable. But in that instance David (in the form of Julia Roberts) was easy to root for, and Goliath, the company that was giving people cancer, was easy to hate, whereas in this case it’s a little less clear cut.

Admittedly the little guy here, Jerry (played by Tommy Lee Jones) is sympathetic, as a 75-year old owner of a small funeral business, but the injustice done to him doesn’t seem that compelling.

Due to financial problems Jerry made a verbal agreement with Mr Loewen, CEO of the Loewen Group, to sell part of his business. But then Mr Loewen didn’t back up the verbal agreement by signing a written contract, probably because he was banking on Jerry having to file for bankruptcy so that his business could be bought for a song.

Jerry doesn't take that sort of treatment lying down, so he wants to sue.

As I say, not that sexy a case, so I could quite understand why attorney Willie Gary (Jamie Foxx) is inclined to dismiss it.  He likes winnable big money personal injury cases where he can use his gift of the gab to influence the jury.

He is persuaded to change his mind, and become lead attorney, because just maybe the Loewen Group might be screwing lots of people around, so maybe an eye-catchingly large claim can be made.

Once they're on the case Gary's team don't seem to do anything that useful, and when Gary puts an underprepared Jerry on the stand who gets annihilated by the opposition attorney, things look bad, and Gary is demoted.

Things get even worse when Gary's replacement, Mike, a long-time lawyer and friend to Jerry,  is revealed to have a grandfather who was a member of the KKK, so that Jerry's pretty much inclined to throw in the towel.

And if you're wondering what the relevance is of Jerry's defence lawyer having a racist grandpa, well it's because race somehow gets to be an issue in this case.

For starters, the trial takes place in a predominantly black county in the South, in front of a jury that is mainly black, which is why Loewen has appointed a supersmart black woman to counter Gary.  

And the decisive factor in the trial is the uncovering of a scheme whereby the Loewen Group were systematically ripping off impoverished black people.

Up to that point Gary hasn't impressed, but now armed with some decent ammunition he does a tiptop job of taking Mr Loewen to the cleaners in the witness stand, leading to an enormous sum being awarded to Jerry.

Some of the characters are not fleshed out much, such as Hal, a young black lawyer, and it's a bit odd in this type of drama for the opposition lead attorney to be likeable.

But it's a highly enjoyable entertainment, mainly down to the two lead performances.  Foxx is charisma personified, dressed up to the nines, but he avoids being a cartoonish character thanks to some quiet moments where we see that he has made a connection with Jerry and feels a personal commitment to the case.  Tommy Lee Jones is playing a part he could do in his sleep, but he does manage to turn it into a memorable performance.

And I appreciated that the racial element gives the story some heft without taking it over completely.

RATING: ✓ Cheers