BURIAL SOCIETY
Burial Society is a film noir, a bargain basement emulation of early Coen Brothers style. It tells the story of loans manager Sheldon Krasner (Rob LaBelle), a man of quiet desperation who embezzles money from the wrong people. In an effort to elude the gangsters who are searching for him he conceives an elaborate plan to join the Chevrah Kadisha or Burial Society made up of devout Jewish men who prepare dead bodies for burial.
As expected with this kind of film there are twists a plenty, but none are really surprising. This kind of quirky film noir piece has become stock – we know to look for the twists and turns and when they do come, they’re not that surprising. We’ve seen this kind of story many times, but director Nicholas Rasz at least shakes things up visually, using several showy shots that break up the functional monotony of the story. In one scene as Krasner is putting money into a bag it is seen from the bag’s perspective. Not necessary, but a tricky little shot nonetheless.
Rob LaBelle is fine as the nebbishy Krasner, and at 82 minutes Burial Society flies by, but doesn’t leave any lasting impression.
