Bernie
I am back! It is lucky that the first film I am seeing since Oskar’s birth is such a fun one. Had it been a lesser film, or at least a less enjoyable film, it may take another two months until I see another film. Truth to be told, I am so much more into TV shows right now. (Mad Men, Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones – who is not watching them?) TV shows are less burdensome, almost always more enjoyable and at least as interesting for its own reasons. If you are reading this blog, I probably know your opinion on this matter and you most likely agree already. Nevertheless, my passion for films is back and I am already wondering what I should see next.
It is just like Shii said, Bernie is surprisingly enjoyable. Sure, I watched the movie because of Shirley MacLaine and because I want to see everything Linklater did, but it’s actually worthwhile by itself. Especially the first half had so many beautiful, funny lines, and it is surprising because I had no idea Linklater even had an inkling of humor in him. The second half was less funny, perhaps because Shirley MacLaine’s character disappeared from the story, but just like “Préparez vos mouchoirs” one could just watch the beginning and forgive the rest.
Alright, doing that would not really do the film justice, where justice is the key word. Behind the cloak of a (successful!) black comedy actually lies a real story. Hell, the story is so absurd (as black comedies almost always are) that I was surprised this is actually a true story. Nevertheless, the concept of a murderer who is otherwise a great person yet has – by law – deserved every bit of his sentence is at least interesting. It questions everything we expect of law, what law is and should be. Is law there to punish? In that case Tiede deserved his sentence. (By the way, I hated how in the film, even in the courtroom people called him “Bernie”. The film is awfully one-sided and that aspect just took the cake.) Is it there to serve as determent for others? I don’t think anyone could possibly be motivated to commit Bernie’s crime. Is doing good deeds for the community a reason to lower Tiede’s sentence? If yes, then I should get imprisoned for life because I probably never did anything good for any community. Is prison for life there to keep criminals up from repeating their crimes? By that logic Tiede didn’t need prison whatsoever, it’s not like he’ll ever do that again. Even without this film, just by looking at the facts, one could come to the conclusion that Tiede did not deserve what he got, and that his service to the city outweighs his crime, at least a little bit. After all, if you compare him to some other murderous rapists out there, you can’t help but feel that there is something unfair there. Tiede is definitely suspicious (which innocent young man hides the dead body for months and then proceeds to spend her money?) but does that make him a cold-blooded killer?
Back in high school, my favorite topic in philosophy class was law. I actually didn’t understand the concepts of those texts until about 1-2 years later when I revisited them for fun, or rather I should say it was only then that I understood a little more. If law is there for society to function and to protect humans from themselves, then society probably has an interest in reintroducing Tiede into the city he loved so much. Now I am an individual being and my individual feelings tell me that I don’t necessarily have an interest in the good of society (especially not at my own expense), but in this case, my feelings for Tiede’s case and society agree: I want to see this man thrive in the “normal world”.
Back in university, I have come to appreciate the beauty of definitions in law. A lot of it is ambiguous but we revel when something is not, and from a legal standpoint, Tiede’s case seems very clear to me. So that other part of me thinks that a murder is a murder, and nothing – money, popularity, personality – should be a criterion as to how long you should be punished for it.
So, after having ranted for so long, I should remind myself that “Bernie” is ultimately a comedy. That it is based on a real story and so openly advocates sympathy for Tiede (who is still in prison) leaves a slightly bitter aftertaste, but don’t let that spoil the fun. And boy the film is a lot of fun. I tend to dislike small-town mentality (hello Dogville), but when it is shown in such a lovely fashion (hello Groundhog Day) I can’t help but love the film.