Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for The Burial.

The Big Picture

• The Burial is a riveting court drama based on the story of Jerry O'Keefe, who decides to take on a large funeral company called The Loewen Group and hires attorney Willie E. Gary to help him.
• Jerry O'Keefe and Willie Gary did team up in a David vs. Goliath court case that turned the Loewen Group on its head and would eventually get founder and CEO Raymond Loewen fired
• Jerry and Willie remained friends well after the trial was over. It was an unlikely friendship between an older white man and a much younger Black attorney in south Mississippi in the mid-90s, but they earned the respect of each other during the case.

The riveting courtroom drama The Burial directed by Maggie Betts is an Amazon Original that stars a formidable tandem of Jamie FoxxandTommy Lee Jones in dual headlining roles. The story is about a Mississippi-based funeral home director named Jeremiah "Jerry" O'Keefe (Jones) who decides to take on a large funeral company called The Loewen Group and hires personal-injury-lawyer-turned-contract-law-attorney Willie E. Gary (Foxx). The film feels like it's based on real people, as do the events that are depicted as happening during 1995 and 1996. Jurnee Smollett, Bill Camp, and Alan Ruck from Succession turn in noteworthy performances in the film that follows a case sealed with a handshake deal and slowly evolves into a $100 million civil case that tests the mettle of not only Jerry and Willie but Jerry's wife Annette (Pamela Reed) and the villainous corporate tycoon Raymond Loewen (Camp). But are the events shown in The Burial based on the unlikely partnership turned friendship of a 75-year-old White funeral home director from Mississippi and an up-and-coming, flashy, gregarious Johnnie Cochran-like Black lawyer from Florida actually true?

The Burial

Inspired by true events, a lawyer helps a funeral home owner save his family business from a corporate behemoth, exposing a complex web of race, power, and injustice.

Is the Story of 'The Burial' Is Based on Real Life Events

Before the film even begins, the audience is informed in a prologue-scripted sentence that the events we are about to witness are based on a true story. And yes, Jerry O'Keefe and Willie Gary did team up in a David vs. Goliath court case that turned the Loewen Group on its head and would eventually get founder and CEO Raymond Loewen fired. Ultimately, years later, the damage done by the trial would put the corporation out of business. It's one of those legal battles that just has the feel of something that a greedy scumbag like Loewen would try to pull over on what he considers to be a past-his-prime small businessman who will willingly be taken advantage of and eventually roll over. But Raymond had no idea of who he was dealing with, as Jerry O'Keefe proves to be a moral man with a steely resolve, supported by a smart and understanding spouse and a flamboyant, never-say-die attorney who will all go to the mat to make sure that their legacy is passed down to his many children and grandchildren.

‘The Burial’ Ending Explained: Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones Go to Court

Do Willie and Jerry win their case in the end?

How Do Jerry and Gary Come Together in 'The Burial'?

In 1995, Jerry O'Keefe ran into some financial hardships operating a medium-sized funeral home and burial business. He had nine separate homes but was getting hit with capricious state laws and bureaucratic red tape that put him in a bind. His wife Annette asks him to sell a portion of his company to relieve their financial stress as they are set to retire and will need the savings. So when Jerry gets an offer to sell one-third of his business to a Canadian-based corporation called the Loewen Group, he makes a handshake deal with Ray Loewen to sell three of his funeral homes in exchange for a promise that Loewen will stop selling burial insurance in south Mississippi.

After waiting for months for Loewen to sign the contract, it becomes clear that he is trying to wait the financially strapped Jerry out to the point where he has to declare bankruptcy, and he can still sell his lucrative insurance deals in the state. Jerry decides to sue Loewen and knows he will need a very capable lawyer to represent him in the precedent-setting case, so he hires the fiery and undefeated personal injury lawyer Willie Gary. It turns out to be a match made in heaven, as the two would go on to win the case and be awarded $400 million in punitive damages.It was later reduced to $175 million which is still a nice chunk of change. More important to Jerry though, is that it cost Ray Loewen his job and put the Loewen Group out of business.

Are 'The Burial's Jerry and Willie Still Friends Today?

During the taxing process of getting justice for the breach of contract by Loewen, Jerry, and Willie had their share of ups and downs. At one point, Jerry decides to relieve Willie of the role as lead attorney after he makes a crucial mistake in the courtroom. Eventually, Gary is restored to a leadership post and the two find out that they work well together. So well, that the two remained friends well after the trial was over. It was an unlikely friendship between an older white man and a much younger Black attorney in south Mississippi in the mid-90s, but they earned the respect of each other during the case. Gary knew it would be a tough case saying, “You’re going to have some ups and downs, and I’ve had cases where nothing was going right, and I felt like giving up. But something told me to run on,’’ After the movie's final scenes, it is revealed to the audience that Jerry O'Keefe and Willie Gary remained friends for close to twenty years following the courtroom debacle.

After Willie won his case representing Jerry, he would continue in the contract law field and win several more big cases against the likes of The Walt Disney Company, among others. He earned the nickname, "the giant killer" for his propensity to take on big companies and take them down in the courtroom. He remains a large donor to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (or HBCUs) and has a scholarship in his name that is awarded to worthy aspiring lawyers. He also really loved the fact that Jamie Foxx was chosen to play him as the two have very similar stories growing up in the south in the church and being excellent high school athletes. He had nothing but great words for his late friend Jerry O'Keefe telling USA Today that, "Jerry was the finest father figure I’ve ever met in my life, and that’s including a lot of people." It's an inspiring story and knowing that the bond that is portrayed on screen is more than just a work of fiction feels good.

The Burial is currently streaming on Amazon Prime in the U.S.

Watch on Amazon Prime

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