The story of Burt and the son he never knew
Burt arrives as a deceptively simple premise with real emotional weight underneath. The film follows Burt, a 69-year-old musician living with Parkinson's disease, who one day discovers he has a son named Sammy—a discovery that upends whatever routine or resignation he's built around his life. What unfolds isn't a feel-good buddy comedy, though it carries moments of humor. Instead, director Joe Burke crafts something more unsettling: a portrait of two men circling each other, trying to figure out what they owe each other, what they can offer, and whether blood and biology matter when you've missed six decades together. The black-and-white cinematography strips away distraction—there's nowhere to hide in a frame like that—forcing both the characters and the audience to sit with the awkwardness, the tenderness, and the sheer strangeness of what's happening between them.
How Burt came together: production, cast, and creative vision
Burt is a genuinely independent effort, produced by director Joe Burke and star Oliver Cooper, with executive producer David Gordon Green lending his name and sensibility to the project. That pedigree matters—Green has built a career on finding human stories in unexpected places, and his involvement signals that Burke and Cooper weren't interested in easy sentiment. The cast itself reflects a commitment to authenticity: Burton Berger, playing a fictionalized version of himself, brings a lived-in quality to the role of an aging musician. Oliver Cooper, known for sharper comedic roles, takes on Sammy with a different energy—there's restraint there, a wariness that makes sense for a man meeting his biological father for the first time. The supporting cast includes Steven Levy, Catlin Adams, Mike Decaro, Olivia Luccardi, and Brenda Vaccaro, all of whom anchor the film's world in specificity. The choice to shoot in black-and-white is bold, especially for a 2025 release when color cinematography is the default. It's a formal choice that suggests Burke isn't interested in prettifying his story—he wants you to see the faces, the expressions, the small gestures that carry meaning. There's no box office to speak of yet (Burt is very much an indie title), and awards recognition remains to be seen, but the film's modest ambitions and clear artistic vision suggest it's aimed at the kind of viewer who still believes cinema can be a quiet conversation rather than a spectacle.
What makes Burt stand out: performance and restraint
What's striking about Burt is how much it trusts its actors to do less rather than more. There's no big monologue where Sammy explains his feelings about never knowing his father. There's no scene where Burt breaks down and confesses his regrets in a parking lot. Instead, the film lives in the spaces between words—the way Berger's character moves (Parkinson's isn't ignored or sentimentalized; it's just there, part of how he exists in the world), the way Cooper's Sammy decides whether to stay or leave a room. I keep coming back to how the black-and-white cinematography serves this restraint. Color would've given the film permission to be more romantic about its premise, to make the reunion of father and son feel fated or meaningful in the way Hollywood typically frames these things. But in black-and-white, there's no romance. There's just two people, their faces, their hands, the cigarettes they smoke or don't smoke. The supporting performances—Vaccaro especially—ground the film in a world that exists beyond the central relationship. Hard to say if the film entirely works (it's sitting at a 4.5 on IMDb, which suggests it's divisive), but what's undeniable is that Burke made the film he wanted to make. That's rarer than you'd think, even in independent cinema.
Where to watch Burt online
Burt is currently available to stream on Prime Video, which means you can access it through your Amazon Prime membership if you have one. Movie OTT tracks streaming availability across all major platforms, so if you're trying to figure out where to catch a film on any given week, that's the place to check—availability shifts constantly, and the site keeps pace with those changes. For now, Prime Video is your destination. The film's indie pedigree and modest reach mean it's not getting the wide platform rollout of a studio release, but Prime's reach is significant enough that most people in the US will have access.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Is Burt based on a true story?
Burt is a fictionalized story, though Burton Berger plays a character based on himself. The narrative of discovering an adult son is scripted, not documentary, but Berger's presence lends an autobiographical texture to the film.
Q: Who directed Burt?
Joe Burke directed and produced Burt alongside Oliver Cooper. The film was executive produced by David Gordon Green, known for his work on films like Halloween and Suspiria.
Q: What is Burt's IMDb rating?
Burt currently holds a 4.5 out of 10 rating on IMDb, indicating mixed audience reception. As with all user-generated ratings, this reflects a range of opinions rather than critical consensus.
Q: Why is Burt shot in black-and-white?
Director Joe Burke chose black-and-white cinematography to strip away visual distraction and focus on the faces and performances of his actors. The choice also signals an artistic, uncompromising approach to the material.
Q: Where can I watch Burt?
Burt is available to stream on Prime Video. Check the "Where to Watch" widget at the top of this page for current availability, as streaming rights can change.
Final thoughts on who should watch Burt
Burt isn't for everyone. It's slow, it's unglamorous, and it doesn't offer easy answers about whether a father and son can bridge a 69-year gap with enough time and goodwill. But if you're drawn to character-driven indie films that trust their audience to sit with uncomfortable silences—if you believe that cinema can be about faces and hands and what remains unspoken—then Burt deserves your attention. It's a modest, ambitious film that knows exactly what it is.
