After making so many films about basically decent people, it’s good to know that Richard Linklater had some Hitchcock in him. In his deft comedy Bernie, Linklater brings not just the winsome touch that’s made his lighter work like The School of Rock so broadly appealing but also a more acidic and satirical tone that darkens the shade under the bright Texas sun. Hitch would have sharpened his hooks more, particularly for a film set in such a busybody-riddled small town, but he would have appreciated Linklater’s steady accumulation of detail and grievances, not to mention the resolutely straightforward handling of the murder itself. What Linklater brings to this curious and fact-based story, which just about no other American filmmaker of the moment could, is his expansive sense of character and genial lack of judgment. This is a film about a really nice guy. A murderer, for sure, but just the nicest murderer you’re ever likely to meet…

Bernie is playing now in limited release; check it out. You can read my full review at filmcritic.com.