'Bernie' is based on a true story about Bernie Tiede, an assistant funeral director, who comes to the small town of Carthage, Texas and endears himself to its residents. Ironically, there's a scene later in the film, where Bernie becomes involved in a local community production of 'The Music Man', playing the beloved con man, Harold Hill. Bernie essentially becomes a modern day con man and just as the residents of the fictional town of River City fell for the sweet charms of the smooth-talking Hill (and later forgave him for his transgressions), the same happened with Bernie Tiede in Carthage. But while Hill was guilty of larceny and impersonation, Bernie ended up guilty of much more!
'Bernie' is shot in the style of a pseudo-documentary, with some of the actual townspeople in Carthage, periodically recounting both their impressions of their former neighbor as well as the events that led to his downfall. The odd thing is that they never had a bad word to say about him. Quite the contrary, the community seems to have regarded Bernie as the nicest guy that ever came to their small town.
Bernie's strategy for endearing himself with the community is to go the extra mile in his position as assistant funeral director. Even after the funerals are over, he'll go over to the widow's homes and bring them flowers. He also ingratiates himself with the men of Cartharge by helping them with tax advice. Before you know it, just about everybody in Cartharge knows who Bernie is, and loves him to the hilt.
Bernie has a penchant for spending a great deal of money on credit and develops a habit of giving out presents to various townspeople. His ship comes in when he meets Marjorie Nugent, an extremely wealthy widow, who is hated by just about everyone in town, due to a bad case of unrelenting meanness. Nugent makes Bernie her personal assistant and eventually drives him crazy with her need for constant attention. SUPER SPOILERS AHEAD. She berates him and nags him to the point where he impulsively shoots her in the back four times with one of her own rifles. Bernie stuffs the body in a freezer and pretends she's still alive. As Marjorie was so disliked in the community and had no communication with her relatives, it took about nine months before her stockbroker managed to convince the police to search the house.
The humor in 'Bernie' is due to the myopic view of the townspeople. Because Marjorie was so hated and Bernie, so beloved, most of the people in Carthage are willing to forgive him for his 'sins'. Some even go so far to insist that Bernie is innocent, despite his immediate confession to the police. When the District Attorney has Bernie's trial moved to San Antonio, Bernie's defense attorney bemoans the fact that this is the first time in his career that a trial is moved because the defendant's peers view him as innocent. Carthage townspeople end up expressing anger and frustration toward the San Antonio jury, who in their eyes, are unable to understand why Bernie is such a 'good guy'.
The performers here are a hoot, particularly Matthew McConaughey as DA Danny Buck Davidson. Jack Black transforms himself into a gay charmer turned murderer with aplomb and Shirley MacLaine, in a limited role, conveys the wealthy widow's narcissism to a tee. But it's the actual people of Carthage that steal the show and make this offbeat indie, highly entertaining.
'Bernie' begins to slow down at the end, as there are few surprises when he's put on trial and the defense attorney is no match for the wily District Attorney. But Bernie's story on the whole is quite engrossing not only as a fascinating character portrait but for its analysis of how an entire group of townspeople is seduced, leading to a breakdown of their moral compass.
'Bernie' is shot in the style of a pseudo-documentary, with some of the actual townspeople in Carthage, periodically recounting both their impressions of their former neighbor as well as the events that led to his downfall. The odd thing is that they never had a bad word to say about him. Quite the contrary, the community seems to have regarded Bernie as the nicest guy that ever came to their small town.
Bernie's strategy for endearing himself with the community is to go the extra mile in his position as assistant funeral director. Even after the funerals are over, he'll go over to the widow's homes and bring them flowers. He also ingratiates himself with the men of Cartharge by helping them with tax advice. Before you know it, just about everybody in Cartharge knows who Bernie is, and loves him to the hilt.
Bernie has a penchant for spending a great deal of money on credit and develops a habit of giving out presents to various townspeople. His ship comes in when he meets Marjorie Nugent, an extremely wealthy widow, who is hated by just about everyone in town, due to a bad case of unrelenting meanness. Nugent makes Bernie her personal assistant and eventually drives him crazy with her need for constant attention. SUPER SPOILERS AHEAD. She berates him and nags him to the point where he impulsively shoots her in the back four times with one of her own rifles. Bernie stuffs the body in a freezer and pretends she's still alive. As Marjorie was so disliked in the community and had no communication with her relatives, it took about nine months before her stockbroker managed to convince the police to search the house.
The humor in 'Bernie' is due to the myopic view of the townspeople. Because Marjorie was so hated and Bernie, so beloved, most of the people in Carthage are willing to forgive him for his 'sins'. Some even go so far to insist that Bernie is innocent, despite his immediate confession to the police. When the District Attorney has Bernie's trial moved to San Antonio, Bernie's defense attorney bemoans the fact that this is the first time in his career that a trial is moved because the defendant's peers view him as innocent. Carthage townspeople end up expressing anger and frustration toward the San Antonio jury, who in their eyes, are unable to understand why Bernie is such a 'good guy'.
The performers here are a hoot, particularly Matthew McConaughey as DA Danny Buck Davidson. Jack Black transforms himself into a gay charmer turned murderer with aplomb and Shirley MacLaine, in a limited role, conveys the wealthy widow's narcissism to a tee. But it's the actual people of Carthage that steal the show and make this offbeat indie, highly entertaining.
'Bernie' begins to slow down at the end, as there are few surprises when he's put on trial and the defense attorney is no match for the wily District Attorney. But Bernie's story on the whole is quite engrossing not only as a fascinating character portrait but for its analysis of how an entire group of townspeople is seduced, leading to a breakdown of their moral compass.