THE BURIAL DEMONSTRATES HOW CLEVER ATTORNEYS IMPRESS JURIES
Much less is known about the lawsuit in The Burial, directed by Maggie Betts. Jeremiah O’Keefe (played by an aging Tommy Lee Jones) is the owner of several burial companies as well as a burial insurance company in Mississippi. After World War II, O’Keefe contributed to civil rights progress but now is desperate to preserve his company, which is faltering. A longtime lawyer friend, Mike Allred (Alan Ruck), suggests that he sell a few of his funeral homes to Canadian millionaire Ray Loewen (Bill Camp), who owns a large number throughout the United States. A contract is written, O’Keefe signs, but Loewen sits on the deal, clearly hoping that O’Keefe will get more desperate over time and sell his entire business for much less than the current value. Attorney Hal (Mamoudou Athie) then suggests that O’Keefe sue Loewen for breach of a contract that was never breached, locating the civil case in Hinds County, where the population is mostly African American. But to win the case, he suggests that the most successful African American attorney, charismatic Willie E. Gary (Jamie Foxx), present the case to the jury. O’Keefe observes Gary’s performance in a case in his native Florida and agrees. Loewen, in turn, hires Mame Downes (Jurnee Smollett), a top African American female attorney, to defend him. What then plays out are Gary’s acrobatics before the jury, which overwhelm the case put forward by Downes. The racial backgrounds of the principal characters are recounted, mostly to memorialize the plaintiff and his top attorney. Indeed, the jury awards damages that are judged sufficient to bankrupt him, though trimmed to $75 million when the award is appealed. Even so, Loewen eventually files for bankruptcy. All along the case appears to be a fantasy, but filmviewers are informed that the story is based on “true events,” a trial that actually took place during 1995, when overshadowed by the O.J. Simpson trial. David’s triumph over Goliath prompts the Political Film Society to nominate The Burial as best film exposé of 2023. MH