"Bernie" by Richard Linklater

Despite his iconic "Vienna film”, Before Sunrise (1995), and its equally acclaimed Paris-set sequel, Before Sunset (2004), the European reception of  Richard Linklater’s exceptional career has been fragmentary, to say the least. In 2007, the Austrian Film Museum presented a complete retrospective of Linklater’s films and has also followed his work since then. His upcoming film, Before Midnight (2013), expands the above-mentioned series into a trilogy and will likely be distributed on a global scale, while Bernie (2011) has met the opposite fate. Filmed far from Hollywood, this dark comedy-cum-documentary was a surprise hit in American movie theatres this summer, but remained largely ignored in Europe and elsewhere. The two screenings at the Film Museum are the only presentations of Bernie in Austria.

 

Based on a true story set in small-town Texas, the film rides a delicate balance between Linklater's affection for outsider characters and milieus, his unique understanding of comedy, and his sense of casting – in this case, a mix of local non-actors and stars such as Shirley MacLaine, Matthew McConaughey and Jack Black. The latter had already proved a congenial partner for Linklater in School of Rock (2003) and here offers one of the finest performances of the year: "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 than an actor can be a miraculous thing in the right role." (Roger Ebert)