Oddball comedy drama Bernie is trying something different that's not quite working

U.S. writer-director Richard Linklater has made a weird little biopic about a real-life, small-town mortician and murderer, well loved in his local community of Carthage, Texas.
The role is embraced by Jack Black, who is on good, if muted, form. He makes Bernie a well-intentioned, churchgoing innocent, cruelly exploited by the affluent widow (Shirley MacLaine) he was eventually accused of slaughtering.
The reason this is a curious film is that it’s interspersed by mockumentary footage of locals (played by actors but often quoting real witnesses) enthusing about Bernie. Little sympathy is extended towards his victim.

Jack Black doesn't quite make it all the way as Bernie

One resident even comes out with the justification: ‘It’s not as bad as people say — he only shot her four times, not
The story is too one-paced and monotonous to capture a big audience, and falls midway between comedy and drama, but Black gives his most nuanced performance in years.
I didn’t find it very entertaining, but it is at least trying something different.

User: Jack Black's Bernie takes advantage of lonely Shirley MacLaine's affluent widow