Tommy Lee Jones and Jamie Foxx bring a remarkable true story to life in 'The Burial'

Few things feel as satisfying as watching a huge corporation be brought to its knees by a small mom-and-pop business. The David and Goliath tale is as old as — well, biblical times. In “The Burial,” the battle is between funeral services provider Jeremiah O'Keefe (Tommy Lee Jones), and the Canadian-owned Loewen Group.

Jerry, as O’Keefe goes by, is in some financial trouble. His lawyer, Mike Allred, played by Alan Ruck — whom you might recognize from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” or “Succession” — suggests selling a small part of his business to Ray Loewen (Bill Camp), the head of the Loewen Group.

The Loewen Group is snapping up small, family-owned funeral homes across the United States. As Ray Loewen sees it, it’s a cash cow just waiting to explode with millions of dollars. After all, the baby boomer generation will have to die off eventually.

Camp plays the role of the heartless and unctuous businessman to perfection. Everything about Ray Loewen feels detestable, from his multimillion-dollar yacht to the kitschy servings of shrimp cocktails. Did I mention this is all happening in the mid-’90s?

There are a lot of small clues to cue you in throughout the movie, and the filmmakers give us dates throughout.

But those of us who remember the soda-can-sized cellphones with the antenna on top, VCRs and velour tracksuits (are those coming back in fashion?) can appreciate these small details.

Back to Jerry and Ray.

Jerry decides to sign a contract with the Loewen Group. But things turn sour when the Loewen Group doesn’t follow through with the contract. In fact, it appears that it is dragging out the acquisition process.

Meanwhile, Jerry is still foundering in debt and he loses his funeral home license, a double blow that could force him to sell off everything for a fraction of what it's worth.

Young lawyer and family friend Hal Dockins (Mamoudou Athie) senses foul play afoot. Allred, Jerry’s longtime lawyer, dismisses the idea. But Jerry is convinced by Hal, and so they go in search of an attorney who can help them win a breach-of-contract case. They settle on Willie Gary (Jamie Foxx), a flashy personal injury lawyer from Florida, who hasn’t lost a case in over a decade.

'Always good to be back': After 42 years, Ron Hoon absences cause a stir

Is the movie 'Burial' based on a true story?

This is all based on an actual case. The Loewen Group did offer a contract to buy about 35% of Jerry O’Keefe’s Mississippi-based business, then proceeded not to complete the contract.

As for Willie Gary, he was in truth a made-for-TV-spectacle of a personal injury lawyer.

On its surface, “The Burial” seems comedic and larger-than-life. The filmmakers, director and writer Maggie Betts and writer Doug Wright do an elegant job of balancing the big personalities, especially that of Gary, with the harsh realities of what the Loewen Group was up to. And it was not good.

The case ended up rocketing Gary into higher-stakes lawsuits in which he took on such behemoths as Disney and Anheuser-Busch — and won.

Ben Campbell has 'no regrets': He parted ways with KNIX-FM in Phoenix after decades

Tommy Lee Jones and Jamie Foxx are the perfect duo

Both Jones and Foxx are superb. Jones, who is now 77 years old, looks every bit the part of a grandfatherly figure. He endows Jerry with an authenticity that made me do a double take. And that was due to the uncanny resemblance to my own late grandfather.

Just the simple mannerisms — the way he would rub his face or tap his fingers, especially the way he listened and enjoyed music — it was so real. Jerry is not in any way a brash, eye-catching tour de force on screen. Rather, his quiet dignity and moments of vulnerability are beautifully portrayed by the Oscar-winning Jones.

Foxx also masters the complex human that is Gary. From the flashy personality to the real person beneath the glitter who wants to fight for the little guy, we see Gary evolve as a human being. In all honesty, Gary felt as sleazy as Loewen at first. But we get to see what is at Gary’s core — and therein is a man of integrity.

So should you see this movie? The simple answer is yes. Watch it and feel vindicated that sometimes justice is served, and corruption is exposed and punished.

'The Burial' 3.5 stars

Great ★★★★★ Good ★★★★

Fair ★★★ Bad ★★ Bomb ★

Director: Maggie Betts.

Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Jamie Foxx, Alan Ruck, Mamoudou Athie, Jurnee Smollette.

Rating: R for language.

How to watch: Opened in select theaters on Oct. 5 and streams on Prime Video beginning Oct. 13.

Contact Kaely Monahan at kaely.monahan@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on our podcasts Valley 101 and The Gaggle, and on Twitter @KaelyMonahan.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'The Burial' stars Tommy Lee Jones and Jamie Foxx in a true story