Bernie, 2011.
Directed by Richard Linklater.
Starring Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine and Matthew McConaughey.
SYNOPSIS:
Small-town Texas mortician Bernie Tiede begins a friendship with a recently-widowed millionaire, and after he kills her the local community rallies in support of Bernie.
In Bart Layton’s excellent 2012 film The Imposter the line between documentary and thriller is blurred with the use of actors to recreate events based on the testimonial of it’s participants. While The Imposter is ultimately a documentary which borrows from fiction, in Bernie we are given a fiction which borrows from documentary.
Bernie tells the true story of a Bernie Tiede, a Texan mortician who, in 1996, shot dead Marjorie Nugent after a five-year relationship which began following the death of her millionaire husband. The script is adapted from an article by Skip Hollandsworth (who receives a writing credit along with Linklater) written in 1998 which detailed the events of their relationship and the ensuing courtroom drama. Upon his arrest Tiede confessed to the grisly crime and was eventually sentenced to life in prison, and looking at these facts you would be forgiven for guessing Bernie’s genre incorrectly – that is until you meet the population of Carthage, Texas. In talking with local residents for his original story Hollandsworth found that, what from the outside seemed like a tale of duplicity, theft and murder, was apparently much more complicated. It seemed that Mrs. Nugent was far from a beloved member of the community, and that outside of her stockbroker and the district attorney not one person -including family- had a good word to say about her. Tiede on the other hand was a local superstar; mortician, confidante, director, actor, singer, poet – all within the bubble of small-town Eastern Texas.
The accusations are that Nugent was a miserable human being, a racist old hag incapable of happiness and more than willing to drain others of it. To write and present these accusations about a murdered woman is perhaps a step too far, and so Linklater brings in those same people who knew Nugent and allows them to speak of their experiences. It seems opinions have not changed much in the proceeding decade and a half as person after person states their uniformly negative opinion of Nugent. Initially this comes across as petty gossip, of second-hand accounts rather than an objective assessment of a lonely woman, but as the stories mount it appears as if the picture they’re all painting is exactly the same. Where things become strange is that rather than a mere lack of regard for Nugent, the majority of Carthage’s residents believed she deserved her fate, with some going one step further and claiming that Tiede was innocent.
In spite of the confession it seemed that the feelings of goodwill towards Tiede were enough to tip the scales of justice in his favour. So much so in fact that the district attorney was forced to request that the court case take place outside of Carthage as to ensure a fair trial for Nugent, and this is the real story of Bernie: of a town caught between sympathy and denial. Linklater and Hollandsworth have reacted accordingly, and as such the tone of the film is levity and absurdity. Bernie plays out according to the testimony of the locals; portraying a woman one stick of plutonium away from being a supervillain, and a man unable to say no to any request. Tiede’s motives for befriending Nugent are played straight, but Linklater drops in a few moments to raise doubts, including Tiede’s stock market frivolity and his fascination with a handsome male tour guide (following accusations of homosexuality by district attorney Danny Davidson).
Your tolerance for Jack Black is not an issue courtesy of an amazing performance as the eponymous Bernie Tiede. Black is sweet, sympathetic and empathetic as we watch Tiede going about his various self-appointed duties with a dignity and enthusiasm that makes the joy of others look like his life’s calling. The role calls for singing but everything he does is true to the character and never exaggerated. Linklater draws a performance from Black that is the polar opposite of their last major collaboration (2003’s School of Rock). His arc stands in direct contrast to the performance of Shirley MacLaine, who manages to play an emotional brick wall before opening up to Tiede only so she can close him down. Her mannerisms and almost-apoplectic fits are the source of much of the film’s black humour, with special note going to a scene involving an overactive TMJ muscle and a despondent Tiede.
McConaughey continues his run of acting in films that aren’t destined for bargain bins with his performance as Danny Buck Davidson, a hard-boiled district attorney tasked with prosecuting Tiede. Davidson seems to have wandered from the documentary part of the story into the fictionalised account of a sweet natured man pushed too far, and as such is perplexed by the reaction of Carthage to the murder of an octogenarian. The townsfolk almost earn a story credit given how much their testimonial colours Linklater’s depiction of the Tiede/Nugent relationship, and it’s those contributions along with Black’s performance that manage to make Davidson somewhat of a wet blanket, but not quite a villain. While Davidson tries to fill the role of a surrogate for an audience bewildered at the notion of a town arguing in favour of a convicted murderer, the local population manage to make his crusade for justice seem petty. To the residents of Carthage what actually took place was an example of karmic justice.
Bernie’s depiction of a relationship as told through the eyes of a town which values a good heart above all else is both heartwarming and perplexing. That Linklater manages to evoke suspense, humour and pathos speaks to his understanding of both small-town Texas and those outside it. Whether you’re taken in by the sweet-natured Tiede, any one of the dozens arguing in his favour or even just the true-crime story of the nicest killer in Texas, Bernie is fascinating viewing.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
John Lucking
Originally published April 25, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
