Jamie Foxx Is So Irresistible He Even Makes ‘The Burial’ Great
You’d be hard pressed to find better evidence of movie-star charisma than The Burial, an uneven courtroom drama that’s energized by the standout performance of Jamie Foxx. As a brash personal injury lawyer tasked with leading a contract-law case on behalf of a working-class funeral home director, Foxx shines blindingly bright, his swagger and sense of humor overwhelming everyone and everything in his vicinity. It’s as appealing a turn as the Oscar-winning actor has given, and it does much to elevate this inspired-by-real events tale of unlikely alliances and an even more improbable victory.
Currently in limited theatrical release (following its premiere at September’s Toronto International Film Festival) and debuting on Prime Video on Oct. 13, director Maggie Betts’ The Burial is headlined by Foxx as Willie E. Gary, a Florida attorney who wears big gold watches and talks an even bigger game. When we’re introduced to Gary in 1995, he’s on a 12-year winning streak due to a simple and effective strategy: pick winnable cases. For Gary, that means staying in his preferred “ambulance chaser” lane and, in particular, representing Black clients with whom he believes he and his associates have a special rapport. Thus, he’s far from enthusiastic when approached by Jeremiah O’Keefe (Tommy Lee Jones)—a white Biloxi, Mississippi, owner of eight funeral homes and one funeral insurance company—to represent him in a civil lawsuit.
O’Keefe is an old-school businessman who loves his wife Annette (Pamela Reed) and his enormous brood (13 kids and 24 grandkids!), the latter of whom he intends to bequeath his family deathcare empire, which he inherited from his own father following his decorated WWII service. O’Keefe is made aware of Gary by his son’s friend Hal Dockins (Mamoudou Athie), a junior lawyer who shows him a VHS recording of Gary’s Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous episode that highlights his opulent mansion and private jet. O’Keefe is naturally wary of the showy Gary, but after witnessing him decimate a trial opponent, he agrees to meet him. Skepticism be damned, they forge an alliance, much to the displeasure of O’Keefe’s long-time chief counsel Mike Allred (Alan Ruck), an entitled Southern boy with a not-so-subtle racist streak.