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Bernie (2011)

dir: Richard Linklater

Local mortician Bernie Tiede (Black) befriends a rich widow (MacLaine) in a small Texas town. He murders Marjorie Nugent for her money, but no one misses her for months until the local district attorney (McConaughey) begins to investigate. In the meantime, many citizens of the small, East Texas town of Carthage rally to Bernie's defense, and demand that the authorities go easy on him for the murder of the unpopular Nugent.

Cast:

Featured Reviews

London Film Festival 2011: BERNIE

cherryflavourpez

I came out of Bernie racking my brain. The film felt so familiar but I had no previous knowledge of the true story, the town or the characters involved in it. I finally realised the familiarity I felt must have been similar films. Even then I couldn’t pinpoint an individual film and all that came to mind was something approaching ...

david-edelstein-new-york-magaz david-edelstein-new-york-magaz added a review of Bernie

On its own terms, Bernie is smoothly made and reasonably entertaining, Linklater doing his Austin-based best not to condescend to the locals - at least the East Carthage locals. Read the review

david-edelstein-new-york-magaz david-edelstein-new-york-magaz rated Bernie

7 stars

roger-ebert roger-ebert added a review of Bernie

I had to forget what I knew about Black. He creates this character out of thin air, it's like nothing he's done before, and it proves that an actor can be a miraculous thing in the right ... Read the review

roger-ebert roger-ebert rated Bernie

9 stars

jeannette-catsoulis-npr jeannette-catsoulis-npr added a review of Bernie

The wonder of Black's performance here is its empathy and balance: inasmuch as he can disappear into any role, he dissolves into this one with no hint of mocking remove. It's a beautiful ... Read the review

jeannette-catsoulis-npr jeannette-catsoulis-npr rated Bernie

9 stars

peter-rainer-christian-science peter-rainer-christian-science added a review of Bernie

The innocence of the townspeople is weirdly uplifting. They love their Bernie so much that they seem even more blinkered than he is. Read the review

peter-rainer-christian-science peter-rainer-christian-science rated Bernie

10 stars

joe-neumaier joe-neumaier added a review of Bernie

Jack Black adds new depths to his slippery comic persona in Bernie, a movie that may not ultimately add up to much, but which is filled with wonderfully odd details of weird Americana. Read the review

joe-neumaier joe-neumaier rated Bernie

6 stars

lou-lumenick lou-lumenick added a review of Bernie

Jack Black gives the performance of his career in the title role of Bernie, under the pitch-perfect direction of his "School of Rock'' director, Richard Linklater, who expertly crafts a b... Read the review

lou-lumenick lou-lumenick rated Bernie

9 stars

joe-morgenstern joe-morgenstern added a review of Bernie

Where the movie is at its best is in the comically laconic, straight-to-the-camera remarks offered by Carthage's residents. (They're played by a mix of local actors and real townspeople d... Read the review

joe-morgenstern joe-morgenstern rated Bernie

7 stars

betsy-sharkey betsy-sharkey added a review of Bernie

This is writer-director Richard Linklater at his wry, whimsical best, and considering he was the filmmaker behind 1993's "Dazed and Confused," that makes the movie something of a milestone. Read the review

betsy-sharkey betsy-sharkey rated Bernie

9 stars

manohla-dargis-the-new-york-ti manohla-dargis-the-new-york-ti added a review of Bernie

Gaudily vibrant, at times morbidly funny. Read the review

manohla-dargis-the-new-york-ti manohla-dargis-the-new-york-ti rated Bernie

9 stars

mary-pols mary-pols added a review of Bernie

Instead of exploring something bigger, like the origins of Bernie's need for the company of elderly ladies (which Hollandsworth touched on in Texas Monthly; Tiede lost his mother at age 3... Read the review

mary-pols mary-pols rated Bernie

5 stars

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