The Burial (2023) * *

Directed by:  Maggie Betts

Starring:  Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones, Jurnee Smollett, Pamela Reed, Bill Camp, Alan Ruck, Mamoudou Athie

The Burial is a curious courtroom drama based on true events, but I can't imagine the real thing played out this awkwardly.  Because the story takes place in 1995 Mississippi and involves black lawyers and a white client, there is unnecessary emphasis on race.   The case was a contract dispute involving a funeral home owner (Jones) who agreed on a handshake deal with a large corporation to sell three of his eight funeral homes in order to climb out of debt caused by his unwitting participation in a Ponzi scheme.  The corporation, however, passively reneged on the deal by not moving forward with the purchases, so the owner, Jeremiah O'Keefe, sues the corporation.   On the advice of a young lawyer (Athie), O'Keefe chooses a flashy, rich personal injury attorney named Willie Gary (Foxx), who initially refuses the case because there is little money in it, but decides to take it when he realizes he might be able to generate huge payouts later on.

Jeremiah sees Willie on "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" and witnesses his act in court where he wins a significant payout for a drunk bicyclist hit by a large company's truck.   Jeremiah is a mild-mannered plaintiff who only cares that Willie wins his case and allows him to leave his funeral home chain to his thirteen children.  The corporation cynically assigns a black legal team led by Mame Downs (Smollett), who is a killer on cross examination.   Maybe race was discussed as part of the case, but soon the movie is bogged down by it.  Foxx puts in considerable energy and is a likable protagonist, and Jones' quiet tone is a perfect contrast to Foxx's flash.  After spending so much time muddying the waters, the movie then circles back to the contract itself, but how exactly Willie wins the case and convinces the jury to award $500 million to O'Keefe remains a mystery.  

The Burial starts out as a compelling courtroom drama and a study in opposites between attorney and client, but then the courtroom scenes strain to provide false racial bigotry where it isn't present and derails what made the movie interesting in the first place.