Bernie

Bernie is an unusual film that falls in a singular genre I can only think to describe as “true-crime mockumentary.”  The story is based on journalist Skip Hollensworth's reporting of an actual murder trial, but presented as a broad comedy about small-town Texas life by director/co-writer Richard Linklater (Slacker, Dazed and Confused, School of Rock). Linklater cast actors as well as non-actors from the area where the story takes place as the townsfolk who tell us Bernie’s story.  This pseudo-documentary approach is a novel idea for a fact-based film, and, for the most part, it works.

Jack Black is perfect casting for Bernie Tiede.  It would be tempting to camp up this role, but Black and Linklater keep him as believable as possible, grounding the performance in the actual man's real-life mannerisms. The two other leads, Shirley MacLaine and Matthew McConaughey, are also excellent.  No one overplays their part, even though the story is as farcical as anything by Blake Edwards and as Southern-Gothic as anything by Tennessee Williams.  Unfortunately, the narrative device of delivering plot details via the talking heads of the townsfolk keeps the audience at a distance. We never get any closer to understanding these characters than we would by reading Hollensworth’s article. Interviews are far more journalistic than cinematic, and, though many of these direct to camera testimonials are funny, the constant interruption of our time with the story's main players causes this short film to drag and overstay its welcome.

The most significant achievement of the picture is that the odd circumstances surrounding Bernie's murder trial shine a light on the key double standard in the American legal system—and our society in general.  As human beings we naturally apply different moral (and even legal) standards to someone we like and identify with, than we do to those we dislike, fear, or see as “others.”  Perhaps it takes a light-hearted comedy like this one to point out such a major flaw in our democracy without coming off as preachy or saccharine. Unfortunately, this theme is presented too subtly (it may even be an unintended subtext), and the story is so breezy and amusing that it's easy to miss this insightful and important comment.