God bless Bernie Tiede: beloved mortician, musician, philanthropist, friend, and convicted murderer. Yes, the real life Bernie Tiede was convicted of murdering 81-year-old Marjorie Nugent, his long-time companion. But that’s not the whole story. Bernie was so beloved in his home of Carthage, Texas and the populace so convinced of his innocence that the District Attorney had to make a change of venue so he could get a fair trial. Truth really is stranger than fiction. Jack Black gives a career-defining performance as Bernie, a kind, amiable fellow who gets trapped into an abusive relationship with Marjorie. She becomes so demanding and possessive that when Bernie confesses to shooting her four times in a sort of uncontrollable trance, we instantly believe him. Blending documentary footage of the real-life townsfolk involved in the case and tremendous performances by Black, Shirley MacLaine as Marjorie, and Matthew McConaughey as Carthage’s fanatical district attorney, director Richard Linklater's Bernie provides one of the most eclectic and fascinating snapshots of Texan culture since his ground-breaking indie hit Slacker (1991).
7/10
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