Bernie Tiede was a resident of the small community of Carthage, Texas: an assistant funeral director who thrived on giving pleasure to his family, friends and the community. They loved him back, even the town bitch: the rich and elderly Marjorie Nugent. Bernie soon charms her with his unadulterated attention and companionship. The two take extravagant world-trips and high-living vacations. Having no loving family members, Marjorie eventually bequeaths her entire fortune to Bernie. She eventually convinces Bernie to become her full-time nurse. Soon her overbearing, hostile behavior becomes too much to bear. Day and night, her demands for his attention began to drain him. One fateful afternoon, Bernie snaps and unloads four bullets into her backside. Nine months later, Bernie’s crime is finally discovered. He’s incarcerated, tried, convicted and sentenced to a life-sentence. True story.
And the film version is a comedy with the title role filled by none other than Jack Black.
Directed by Texas native, Richard Linklater, Bernie was based on a 1998 article by Skip Hollandsworth in “Texas Monthly”. Surprisingly, the article paints Bernie as a victim of the heat-of-passion, who is a seemingly harmless, loving soul before and after the crime. The film version is also a fitting homage to the hospitality and good nature of the southern folk. For the small but pivotal roles of Bernie and Majorie’s friends and acquaintances, Linklater cast many of the actual Carthage residents, who turn out to be the best part of the film.
Part documentary, part fictionalized black comedy, Bernie constantly intermixes sit-down interviews by people who considered the real Bernie as a saintly soul who cherished many things including theater, which he taught in his spare time, and his church where he often lead the gospel choir. He also convinced the Funeral Home superior to convert the venue into a sanctimonious haven for the grief-stricken. It seems that there isn’t one person who didn’t like him. The town’s genuine affection for Bernie is equaled by their vehement displeasure for his “victim”, the wealthy Marjorie. Their resolve is so powerful that it becomes infectious. When one of the ladies (again, an actual town-member) curtly says “She was a bitch”, you pretty much believe it.
The most striking element of Linklater’s take on Bernie Tiede’s saga is how little irony and mockery is involved. Jack Black provides one of his best performances yet as Bernie, donning a grin that is completely devoid of his trademark mischievousness, but is surprisingly warm and sincere. His puffy body fully fits perfectly into his well groomed, white starched shirts and cheesy ties. Black also imbues Bernie with a careful touch of effeminacy that gives us enough to question his orientation without becoming farcical. Among the film’s many sections, labeled in title cards, posits the question: Was Bernie gay? According to many of the residents: “Yes”. However, one begs to differ, “He was a too much of a true Christian boy to be gay”.
When Bernie is arrested, most of the town was willing to turn a blind eye. Between the murder and his arrest, Bernie donates much of Nugent’s money to noble causes while remaining in his modest home and continuing to lie about Nugent’s mysterious disappearance. However, Danny Buck (Matthew McCanoughey), Carthage resident and DA is only interested in the legal ramifications and serves as prosecutor for Bernie’s murder case.
As good as Black is, McCanoughey is equally impressive. His brooding, matter-of-fact cowboy district attorney seeps with dry comedy. His descriptions of Bernie’s supposed lifestyle as well as the townsfolk’s naive, optimistic outlook to Bernie’s crime adds a lovely bit of counter balance to the what is primarily a one-sided story. Linklater throws McCanoughey into the fray of interview respondents without warning and the Hollywood sex symbol (and Texas native) blends perfectly among the colorful bevy of Carthage’s citizens.
MacLaine carries her bitchy Marjorie with just the right blend of cold-heartedness and sad tragedy. Her moments with Black contain a nice blend of charm and platonic affection that soon, realistically, degenerates into a dysfunctional mother-son dynamic that hearkens back to the Psycho franchise–with the same resolution. Marjorie’s seething and disregard for Bernie’s emotions or longing for a personal life create a sense of sympathy even during the fatal moments when Bernie unloads multiple rifle shots into her back when her head is turned.
This black comedy is equally dry while the Hollywood leads keep straight faces. It is the non-acting Texas civilizations spilling their opinions freely that induce some side-splitting funny moments such as the Carthage police-force’s atypical methods of diverting kids away from drinking-and-driving. There’s also a Carthage resident who highlights the various regions of Texas; besmirching the idea that Texans all inhabit the same mentalities and trademark Redneckian lifestyles. (The panhandle just as a question mark hovering over the non-labeled region.) Even more curious is the true account to Bernie’s trial, which was relocated to another county because, ironically, the odds of a fair trial were impractically in favor of the defendant.
In an interview, Linklater said that he wanted “Bernie” to embody many of the characteristics about his homeland that are missing in typical Hollywood fare. Among them is Bernie, who will likely die in prison for the murder of an old lady and is more likable just about any film character this year. There’s also the loyal town members who adopted him regardless of his crimes or questionable sexual orientation.
There are hints that an added layer of truth is hiding within the large knitting-circle townsfolk collage, but there’s very little doubt in my mind that Bernie was and is a good man who made one terrible error in judgment. The real fun is the ambiguity–the untold stories and facts left out. What truly attracted Bernie to being Marjorie’s close-nit companion? Money? Is Bernie gay? We never know for sure nor does it matter. Part of the appeal is picking apart the barrage of the informants praise of Bernie and utter disdain for the now deseased Majorie. It’s like seeing the town of Bedford Falls rally to bring money to George Bailey–right after he murdered Mr. Potter. You don’t have to be a good Southern boy to find that kinda appealing. Dagnabbit!
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