Bernie (2011 film)


Bernie is a 2011 black comedy film directed by Richard Linklater, and written by Linklater and Skip Hollandsworth. The film stars Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine and Matthew McConaughey. It is based on a 1998 Texas Monthly magazine article by Hollandsworth, Midnight in the Garden of East Texas, that chronicles the 1996 murder of 80yearold millionaire Marjorie Nugent in Carthage, Texas by her 39yearold companion, Bernhardt Bernie Tiede. Tiede proved so highly regarded in Carthage that, in spite of having confessed to the police, the district attorney was eventually forced to request a rare prosecutorial change of venue in order to secure a fair trial.

Tiede murders Nugent after growing weary of the emotional toll of her possessiveness, persistent nagging, and nonstop putdowns. For nine months, Tiede takes advantage of her poor reputation to excuse her absence with few questions while using her money to support local businesses and neighbors. Finally, Nugents stockbroker uses Tiedes neglect of previously agreed upon payments to enlist the help of her estranged family. This results in an authorized police search of her house that concludes with the discovery of Nugents corpse in a freezer chest.The local district attorney, Danny Buck Davidson, charges Tiede with firstdegree premeditated murder. Tiede is arrested and he soon confesses that he killed Nugent while claiming her emotional abuse as a mitigating circumstance. Despite this confession, many citizens of Carthage still rally to the murderers defense, with some even asserting that Nugent deserved to die. Frustrated, Davidson successfully requests a change of venue to the town of San Augustine, 50 miles away, to avoid selecting a biased jury. Despite the absence of evidence of premeditation, Tiede is found guilty as charged and imprisoned for life. ........

Source: Wikipedia


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