The Burial (2023)
126 min|Drama|13 Oct 2023
7.1Rating: 7.1 / 10 from 1,227 usersMetascore: N/A
Inspired by true events, a lawyer helps a funeral home owner save his family business from a corporate behemoth, exposing a complex web of race, power, and injustice.
Director: Maggie Betts
Creator: Doug Wright, Maggie Betts, Jonathan Harr
Actors: Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones, Jurnee Smollett
PahePremium.in – The Burial adalah film drama pengadilan yang diarahkan oleh Margaret Betts. Film ini dibintangi nama-nama besar, yakni Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones, Jurnee Smollett, Mamoudou Athie, Alan Ruck, dan Bill Camp. Kisahnya diadaptasi dari artikel bertitel sama yang dirilis The New Yorker pada tahun 1999 yang bersumber pada kisah nyata antara pengacara ternama Willy E. Gary dan kliennya, Jeremiah O’Keefe. Film ini dirilis platform Prime Video belum lama ini. Akankah The Burial mampu menjadi sebuah film drama biografi yang memikat?
Dihimpit oleh lilitan hutang, pengusaha pemakaman lokal, Jeremiah O’Keefe (Jones) dipaksa menjual asetnya ke satu pengusaha pemakaman raksasa di Kanada, yakni The Loewen Group. O’Keefe ditemani dua rekan pengacaranya, Mike Allred (Ruck) dan Hal Dockins (Athie). Mereka bertemu sang CEO, Raymond Loewen (Camp) dan akhirnya kesepakatan dicapai. Waktu pun berselang, pihak Loewen belum juga menandatangi kontrak yang diduga ada unsur kesengajaan. Jeremiah pun berniat menuntut Loewen dengan menggunakan pengacara glamor, Willy. E Gary (Foxx).
Drama pengadilan senada, raksasa vs “orang kecil” telah sering disajikan dengan beragam motif, sejak The Insider hingga Erin Brockovich. Modus plotnya pun sama, bagaimana investigasi tim pencari fakta untuk mencari bukti solid yang digunakan dalam pengadilan. Sementara di pihak lawan, dengan segala sumber dayanya yang tak terbatas menggunakan cara apa pun untuk berkelit dan mempertahankan diri. Uang akan selalu berbicara. Dua film di atas melakukannya dengan cara yang elegan dan berkelas.
Sementara The Burial mengalir datar dengan menunda selama mungkin klimaksnya melalui pembelokkan ke intrik ras yang dangkal dan mudah sekali dibaca. Para tokohnya tampak gegabah dan tak siap menghadapi persidangan. Pula, terlalu banyak subplot yang membuat tak fokus antara sisi investigasi, drama di pengadilan, dan relasi antara karakternya. Kita semua tahu, apa yang bakal terjadi dan pihak protagonis bakal menang dengan gemilang. Namun, usaha dan prosesnya tak mampu membangun drama pengadilan intens dan menggugah yang mengalihkan antisipasi penonton. Terasa janggal pula, Jeremiah yang membangun usaha untuk keluarganya (anak cucunya), namun tak ada secuil pun sosok putra dan putrinya dalam plot selain istrinya. Ini tentu melemahkan motif karakternya.
Tipikal drama pengadilan David vs. Goliat, The Burial, di luar penampilan kuat kastingnya, selain kurang menggugah, nyaris tiap kelokan plotnya tak sulit untuk diantisipasi. Potensi besar plotnya sesungguhnya adalah emosi dan chemistry antara Willy dan Jeremiah, bukan pada kemenangan orang kecil pada pihak penindas. Jika ini ditekankan sepanjang filmnya, hasilnya mungkin berbeda. Usaha pemakaman sebagai sisi spesifik yang menjadi nilai keunikan kisahnya, sejatinya dapat diolah sebagai metafora yang lebih mendalam. Bukan semata glorifikasi keseteraan ras dan keberpihakan orang kecil melalui tipikal kisah Good vs Evil. Untuk tontonan streaming, The Burial jelas lebih dari cukup.
The Burial (2023)
126 min|Drama|13 Oct 2023
7.1Rating: 7.1 / 10 from 1,227 usersMetascore: N/A
Inspired by true events, a lawyer helps a funeral home owner save his family business from a corporate behemoth, exposing a complex web of race, power, and injustice.
Director: Maggie Betts
Creator: Doug Wright, Maggie Betts, Jonathan Harr
Actors: Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones, Jurnee Smollett
The Burial is a court drama film directed by Margaret Betts. This film stars big names: Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones, Jurnee Smollett, Mamoudou Athie, Alan Ruck, and Bill Camp. The story is adapted from an article with the same title released by The New Yorker in 1999, which is based on a true story between famous lawyer Willy E. Gary and his client, Jeremiah O’Keefe. Will The Burial be able to become a compelling biographical drama film?
Squeezed by debt, local funeral businessman Jeremiah O’Keefe (Jones) is forced to sell his assets to a giant funeral business in Canada, The Loewen Group. O’Keefe is accompanied by fellow lawyers Mike Allred (Ruck) and Hal Dockins (Athie). They met the CEO, Raymond Loewen (Camp) and finally reached an agreement. As time passed, Loewen had not yet signed the contract, which was suspected to be an element of intent. Jeremiah intends to sue Loewen using a glamorous lawyer, Willy. E Gary (Foxx).
Similar court dramas, giants vs “Little People”, have often been presented with various motifs, from The Insider to Erin Brockovich. The plot mode is the same as how the fact-finding team investigates to find solid evidence for court use. Meanwhile, with all its unlimited resources, the opposing side uses any means to escape and defend itself. Money will always talk. The two films above do this in an elegant and classy way.
The Burial flows flatly by delaying its climax through digressions into shallow, highly readable racial intrigue as long as possible. The characters seem reckless and unprepared for the trial. Also, too many subplots make it impossible to focus on the investigation, the court drama, and the relationships between the characters. We all know what will happen, and the protagonist will make a victory lap. However, the efforts and process could not build an intense, evocative court drama that diverted the audience’s anticipation. It also feels odd Jeremiah is the one who builds a business for his family (his children and grandchildren), but there is not a single hint of his son and daughter in the plot apart from his wife. This certainly weakens the character’s motives.
Typical David vs. Goliath, The Burial, apart from the strong performance of the casting, is less evocative; almost every plot twist is not difficult to anticipate. The plot’s enormous potential is the emotion and chemistry between Willy and Jeremiah, not the victory of the little guy on the oppressor’s side. The outcome might have differed if this had been emphasized throughout the film. The funeral business, as a specific aspect that is the unique value of the story, can be processed as a more profound metaphor. It’s not just glorifying racial equality and partiality for small people through the typical Good vs Evil story.
