Based in the mid-90s, Amazon’s robust legal drama The Burial also moves like a movie made during that exact time, in the very best way possible. The period was jam-packed with grand, dad-pleasing films taking place in the courtroom, predominantly based on books by John Grisham, perfectly tailored to big stars seeking a way to show off their argumentative skills, an actors’ showcase that at the time couldn’t be topped.
Here it’s the turn of Jamie Foxx, the sort of big, charismatic movie star it’s become too easy to underestimate as it’s become so rare for us to see him operating at his very best. The last few years have given him precious few chances outside of a string of rote Netflix action movies but when allowed to swim in a deeper pool, as in 2019’s affecting, if underseen, drama Just Mercy or this year’s charming, if overstuffed, sci-fi comedy They Cloned Tyrone, he instantly reminds us just what he can do and how well it can be done. At a time of a slight movie star crisis, his electric performance here is another reminder that we might have to continue looking to our past rather than our present if we want a re-up of A-list energy.
