A simple indie thriller and feature debut from Nicholas Racz; set in the fresh world of Jewish finance, The Burial Society is a new twist on the man-on-the-run indie film
Sheldon Kasner (Rob LaBelle) is the man on the run. Racz's script and LaBelle's Sheldon feel just right as they team up to dupe us. The Burial Society (Official, IMDb) has moments of "The Usual Suspects," but never quite gets to that ah-ha moment--not that it needs to, or intended to. The closest Racz gets in with Jeremy Presner's editing at the story's climax (remember when we all realized that Verbal Kint was Keyser Soze?).
The Burial Society is more subtle in both story and pace.
Plot Spoiler Warning!
Timid Sheldon has a problem: his bosses at the Hebrew Bank are missing a few million dollars. In their panic, they reveal the truth behind the bank's success: money laundering. But when Sheldon, in utter shock that he's been working for the mob, is unable to help, his life is threatened.
Sheldon decides to lam-it-up in a small, Jewish town. Deeply religious (especially since the whole mob thing,) Sheldon volunteers to work with the Chevra Kadisha, or burial society--a group of three men (Jan Rubes, Allan Rich, and Bill Meilen) who ready bodies for a proper Jewish burial. Seems the perfect hiding place, right?
Racz's pace is right on as his script begins to unveil itself to us--why Sheldon chose to hide with the Chevra Kadisha, what really happened to the missing money, etc. And he gives the The Burial Society a rather crafty subplot that delivers a nice ah-ha to the film's end: Sheldon's brother (David Paymer,) who has endured beatings and the loss of a few fingers (maybe...,) plays the plotting Verbal Kint-esque character who was never really what he seemed--a bit harsh for a brother, but it works because Sheldon also wins.
The Burial Society is not The Usual Suspects, but deserves a spot in your DVD queue nonetheless--especially for the indie thriller fans.
The Goods:
- Best Canadian Screenplay at the 2002 Vancouver International Film Festival
- Danny Nowak's camera work is studio worthy
- The Jewish burial ritual is both loving and fascinating
Production Companies
- Astral Films
- British Columbia Film Commission
- CITY-TV
- CanWest Global
- Davis Entertainment Filmworks
- The Big Little Picture Company Ltd.
- Téléfilm Canada
Distributors
- Regent Releasing
