BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - A new movie tells the story of a landmark court case involving former Biloxi Mayor Jerry O’Keefe and his family’s funeral home business.
The Burial, starring Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones, was just released this week on Amazon Prime.
The film is an adaptation of a New Yorker article written by Jonathan Harr, which was published in 1999. Based on a real case that took place in the late 90s, the film follows the tale of Biloxi’s Jerry O’Keefe, the late owner of Bradford-O’Keefe Funeral Home.
In the film, which is based off a true story but does contain parts that have been fictionalized, Tommy Lee Jones plays O’Keefe, who sets out to save his family’s funeral business from a corporate behemoth, making the decision to sue one of his competitors over a handshake deal gone awry.
In the fight against the large Canadian funeral company, the lawyer - played by Foxx - digs up a complex web of race, power, and oppression that forces everyone to examine prejudices. The case, which took place in the 1990s, ended with the jury awarding O’Keefe $500 million.
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Earlier this week, Jerry O’Keefe’s son, Jeffrey O’Keefe, gathered with friends and family to watch the local premier.
“The reaction from the critics has all been very positive. We’re excited that it seems to be well received,” O’Keefe said.
The film is doing very well with the critics, both professional and just regular watchers like you and me. At the time of this writing, Rotten Tomatoes had The Burial listed as “Certified Fresh” with a 91% score on the Tomatometer. The Critics Consensus was, “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.”
South Mississippi viewers will likely enjoy it even more because of the flattering portrayal of Jerry O’Keefe.
O’Keefe, who died in 2016, was well-known throughout South Mississippi. He served in the state legislature form 1959 to 1963, was mayor of Biloxi from 1973 to 1981. One of his most notable honors, however, was his generous support and donations to the community. He also was a generous philanthropist and tireless fundraiser for charities, including Nativity BVM Catholic Church, the Walter Anderson Museum of Art, and the Boy Scouts.
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He and his first wife Annette founded the O’Keefe Foundation in 1996 to benefit local charities and, upon Annette’s death in 1998, he initiated a lead gift in support of the George Ohr Museum’s plan to build a new facility. As the project grew in scope, Jerry assumed major fundraising duties for the museum and it was ultimately renamed the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art in Annette’s honor.
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