Jamie Foxx already got critics raving earlier this year with his show-stealing performance in They Cloned Tyrone, and just months later he is back for the courtroom drama The Burial. Foxx portrays slick, fast-talking lawyer Willie E. Gary in this story that’s based on true events. Tommy Lee Jones co-stars as the financially troubled funeral home owner Jeremiah Joseph O'Keefe, who takes on a billion-dollar “deathcare” company with the help of Foxx’s personal injury lawyer. Critics have seen The Burial, which is available to stream now with an Amazon Prime subscription, they’re calling it a crowd-pleasing throwback to the ‘90s.
The Burial premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, with Jamie Foxx emerging as an Oscar contender for his work. In addition to Tommy Lee Jones, the movie also co-stars Jurnee Smollett, Alan Ruck, Mamoudou Athie and others, so let’s see what the critics have to say. David Fear of Rolling Stone says there may not be a role better suited to Foxx’s talent, and The Burial is a must-see opportunity to watch the actor in his element. As he wrote:
From the moment you see Gary preaching the good word in front of a congregation on a bright Sunday morning, you can tell that Foxx is going to have fun with this part. This is a gentleman who thrives in the presence of a crowd, whether it’s in a church or a courtroom; his summations, so full of humor and righteousness and an ability to TURN UP THE VOLUME at a moment’s notice, sound exactly the same as sermons. The holy spirit seems to run through Gary whenever he’s working himself into a frenzy, right before he hands his opponent their ass. The way that Foxx plays this real-life lawyer, Clarence Darrow would have taken notes.
Lindsey Bahr of the AP writes that The Burial is glossy, appealing and goes down suspiciously easy, but warns the viewer not to confuse how naturally Jamie Foxx embodies the character with a lack of effort. According to Bahr:
This show belongs to Foxx, and it’s a fun feast to see him grandstand and doubt himself and charm all kinds of jurors and make us feel empathetic for a guy who is himself ostentatiously wealthy, no matter if it was easy for the actor or not.
Robert Daniels of RogerEbert.com gives the movie 3 out of 4 stars, saying that Jamie Foxx elevates this throwback to the ‘90s courtroom drama with a performance that is hilarious, gaudy and self-effacing all at once, while never diminishing his character to buffoonish levels. In Daniels’ words:
Most mixed-race ‘We Must Overcome’ films like Green Book, The Help, and The Blind Side falter by trying to fix the long span of racial inequities within the space of a trite feel-good story, in which only the white character truly feels redeemed and recompensed by credits end. But The Burial doesn’t believe it can solve microaggressions, inequality, and racism in its 126-minute runtime. It’s also not affixed to healing Jeremiah of some guilty conscience. Rather, Foxx as Willie is the actual lead in one of his best, most vibrant, and funny performances in recent memory (though They Cloned Tyrone is a 2023 highlight for him, too).
Travis Hopson of Punch Drunk Critics agrees to a point, admitting that Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones are quite a lot of fun to watch, although the movie often feels uneven, as if it’s not taking itself very seriously and therefore undercutting its quieter moments. This critic rates the movie 3 out of 5 stars, writing:
[Writer/director Maggie Betts] and co-writer Doug Wright keep the legal mumbo-jumbo, [of] which there is plenty, as upbeat and minimal as possible. But there are still stretches where the film can’t help but slow down until Foxx charges things back up again. The Burial doesn’t always make the perfect case for itself, but it’s hard not to like an underdog story with an anti-corporate message delivered with the kind of gusto that Foxx brings to the table.
Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times calls The Burial “old-fashioned yet timely” as Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones and an impressive supporting cast take a story that appears to be about a contract dispute between two white men and reveal it to be so much more. In Roeper’s words:
There is a never a moment when The Burial underplays its hand, and there are times when the story veers far away from the main battle, as when there’s a shocking courtroom revelation about the grandfather of one of the main characters — a revelation that has absolutely nothing, zero, to do with the case. Still, Oscar winners Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones are as great as you’d expect them to be, while Jurnee Smollet and Mamoudou Athie are equally impressive.
This sounds like a great option for fans of the ‘90s legal dramas, as well as those who want to see Jamie Foxx put on yet another stellar performance this year. Other critics seem to agree with the above assessments, as The Burial holds a 92% Fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes critics as of this writing. The movie is available to stream now, and be sure to check out some of the other best movies on Amazon Prime Video, as well as our 2023 Movie Calendar to see what’s hitting the big screen soon.
