The Burial

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2:34

The Burial

R

Released Oct 6, 2023

2h 6m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

121 Reviews

83%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

Inspired by true events, when a handshake deal goes sour, funeral home owner Jeremiah O'Keefe (Academy Award® winner Tommy Lee Jones) enlists charismatic, smooth-talking attorney Willie E. Gary (Academy Award® winner Jamie Foxx) to save his family business. Tempers flare and laughter ensues as the unlikely pair bond while exposing corporate corruption and racial injustice in this inspirational, triumphant story.

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Critics Consensus

A solid courtroom drama led by a pair of nicely contrasted performances, The Burial hits the expected genre beats -- and remains a crowd-pleasing treat at every turn.

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Audience Says

An inspirational underdog drama based on a true story, The Burial is well-acted and consistently entertaining, if somewhat predictable.

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Christy Lemire

FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

Jamie Foxx is enormously charismatic and so commanding.

Nov 1, 2023

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Dwight Brown

DwightBrownInk.com

Foxx is almost giddy as the gospel spirited, gaudy-dressing, cliché-spewing attorney who is out of his league but fighting to the final verdict. Frankly this is the actor’s best performance since Ray.

Rated: 3/4

Oct 19, 2023

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Randy Myers

San Jose Mercury News

A crowd pleaser that feels old school. Make no mistake though, without Foxx's grand and grandiose performance, this cinematic case would be easily dismissed.

Rated: 2.5/4

Oct 18, 2023

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Fletcher Powell

KMUW - Wichita Public Radio

The Burial is far more successful as courtroom entertainment than as an investigation of corporate malfeasance... But it is good entertainment, and it’s exactly the sort of thing many of us wish Hollywood would make a dozen more of every year.

Feb 8, 2024

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...a fairly generic yet mostly entertaining legal drama...

Rated: 3/4

Jan 9, 2024

Full Review

Mitchell Beaupre

The Film Stage

A stellar Jamie Foxx performance at the head, perfectly instilling a showboating ambulance-chasing huckster persona with deep-rooted insecurities that start to crack and a desire to do something greater.

Rated: B+

Jan 1, 2024

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Julian P

I don't know how Foxx pulls this off but he does. He just doesn't seem the kind of actor to play this outrageous role but the fact that he does surely puts him up there with the most versatile actors around. Sure Foxx's posse is ridiculous but it circles around to a believable ending (remember it's a true story!). Lee Jones is the real star though, bringing gravitas and a really unique character that you have to emphasize with.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/04/24

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Ray S

Great movie with an outstanding cast.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/02/24

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Kit L

Please do watch this—in addition to being a really good movie (albeit with a relatively simple David vs. Goliath plot), it's an underplayed background tearjerker, too—about how poorly Afro Americans have been treated since they were press-ganged onto American soil. This haunts us all still; I had tears in my eyes as the elder church member spoke about the unmarked graves in the area where the film plays. My only quibble with the script is that here was no resolution between the character Hal (Mamoudou Athie) and Willie and Jerry—Hal found the smoking gun, after all. Two thumbs up.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/28/24

Full Review

Fong Kok Hoong F

Inspired by the 1999 New Yorker article of the same name by Jonathan Harr, this courtroom drama invigorates spirits in retelling lawyer Willie E. Gary and his client Jeremiah Joseph O'Keefe's David v. Goliath lawsuit against the Loewen funeral company unearthing themes of looting of family legacy and racial exploitation in the funeral industry.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/04/24

Full Review

Howard R

This is one special movie. Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones were just sensational. I had no idea what to expect. On so many levels, this true story was so poignant and moving. The cast was superb. This is a film not to be missed.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/30/24

Full Review

Norman B

Jamie and Tommy were outstanding in this film and also Jurnee all around great cast.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/16/24

Full Review

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Maggie Betts

Director

Tommy Lee Jones

Jeremiah O'Keefe

Jamie Foxx

Willie Gary

Jurnee Smollett

Mame Downes

Mamoudou Athie

Hal Dockins

Pamela Reed

Annette O'Keefe

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The Burial: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Inspired by true events, when a handshake deal goes sour, funeral home owner Jeremiah O'Keefe (Academy Award® winner Tommy Lee Jones) enlists charismatic, smooth-talking attorney Willie E. Gary (Academy Award® winner Jamie Foxx) to save his family business. Tempers flare and laughter ensues as the unlikely pair bond while exposing corporate corruption and racial injustice in this inspirational, triumphant story.

Director: Maggie Betts
Producer: Celine Rattray, Trudie Styler, Datari Turner, Jenette Kahn, Adam Richman, Robert Shriver, Jamie Foxx
Screenwriter: Maggie Betts, Doug Wright
Distributor: Amazon Studios
Production Co: Double Nickel Entertainment, Bobby Shriver
Rating: R (Language)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 6, 2023, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 13, 2023
Runtime: 2h 6m
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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