Almost twenty years after they worked together to create the iconic character of David Wooderson in Dazed and Confused, Matthew McConaughey and Richard Linklater reteamed for the true crime comedy-mystery, Bernie. Based on the real life case of Bernie Tiede of Carthage, Texas, the screen in this film is dominated by a balls-to-the-wall performance by Jack Black, who mixes dramatic and tragic moments in with straight-faced black comedy in as fine a package as there has been in years. McConaughey for his part provides the district attorney who feels like he’s taking crazy pills because while the town of Carthage sees Bernie as the nicest man in town, he can’t see him as anything but a cold-blooded killer.
One of the tricky parts of the McConaughey performance, given that he is one of the three principal players and the only one of which to be featured in a talking head segment of the documentary-style section of the movie, is that he is being interviewed in character while juxtaposed with actual residents of the real life town who knew the real life Bernie. So his part requires a realism to match that of earnest townspeople speaking from their hearts, but also the kind of comedic sense the role of the district attorney calls for. He delivers without seeming to even break a sweat. That’s the smoothness he brings to a movie, even when he’s treading a very fine line.
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