Get Low (2010)

Aaron Schneider's "Get Low" is a slight, unpretentious film that would blow away in the wind if it weren't anchored by some truly wonderful performances. Based on a true story, "Get Low" is set during the Great Depression, in the Appalachian hills of Georgia. Felix Bush (Robert Duvall) an old hermit feared and despised by his neighbors, hires the local funeral director (Bill Murray) to organize a "funeral party" so he can hear what the locals have to say about him before he's actually dead. That climactic event proves the occasion for Felix to make a full confession to his neighbors about the horrific event, forty years before, that cost him his reputation and has haunted him ever since.

Frankly, not much happens in "Get Low" before that climax, but it's mostly a pleasure to watch, thanks to Schneider's deft, low-key direction and the extremely fine acting, especially by Duvall and Murray. Duvall has made a career specialty of backwoods eccentrics, and his Felix Bush is one of the more memorable of them. The pain in Duvall's eyes blasts away any suggestion of mawkish sentimentality that might be inherent in the film. Murray is equally fine as a man who has more than a little con man in him, but who also has seen enough sorrow in life to spark his essential decency. The earnest Duvall and the roguish Murray play beautifully off each other, as fellow travelers on the Train of Sadness.

Sissy Spacek, as an old flame of Felix's, doesn't have much to do, but it's nice to see her anyway. Bill Cobbs is tartly amusing an a preacher who knows Felix's secret, and Lucas Black is extremely likable as Murray's assistant. "Get Low" is a gentle, poignant film, memorable for the acting.

Robert Duvall should have been in contention for an oscar with his complicated portrayal of Felix Bush, a 40-year hermit from the mountains of Tennessee. Bill Cobbs' performance was also remarkable as an Illinois preacher. In actuality, all the acting was stellar. Bill Murray was worth his weight in yen as the more-than-happy-to-oblige funeral director. This innovative storyline of Felix's wish for his own funeral service during his lifetime was perfectly-paced to let each character unfurl. And it was just the right length. Both the photography and costuming were stunning and gave the impression that this really was bound by that period in time. Even the currency had a look of authenticity from back in the days of the Great Depression. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the soundtrack, especially Alison Krauss' splendidly apropos "Lay My Burden Down".

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"Get Low" takes place in the thirties and is about Felix who lives in the Tennessee woods for forty years as a foul-tempered recluse having little to do with the local townspeople. The old bearded coot is played by Robert Duvall who does a great but effortless-seeming acting job. He has a guilty secret which has driven him into seclusion. When an old acquaintance dies, he decides to have a funeral, but he decides he wants it to be a party, and he wants people to tell stories about him, and he wants to be there while he's still alive. Felix infrequently comes into town with his old mule. It's fun looking at the old thirties cars and the period hearse.

It's only later as the movie moves along that you realize this is really a mystery movie. One of the first clues comes when an old flame Sissy Spacek runs out on Felix after seeing a photograph on his wall. As a viewer you wonder what gets her so agitated. What Felix wants is one particular friend, an Afro-American minister (played by Billy Cobbs) to tell what he knows about him. Not that Felix built a beautiful church for the minister but what he confessed to him.

As the funeral director, Bill Murray is very winning playing the part of a man who is funny, sly, maybe a bit of a crook. He is only too happy to get paid for the strange funeral party because his business is tanking, not like his former home in Chicago where people were regularly getting bumped off.

It's actually a tour de force role for Duvall, but movie acting has gotten so deeply ingrained in him that he can make it seem organic. The movie is about peeling away layers of humanity in each character, and we slowly see them evolve into better people that we can admire.

It's a piece of magic storytelling which moves at a stately pace, a measured pace, but you don't get bored and you don't want it rushed because it is inevitably going to be revelatory, and Felix's secret is going to be eased out.

Basically it's a very simple story concerning a man who does not want to go to his grave with a guilty conscience.

Murray's young assistant, the deus ex machina, the catalyst, for a lot that happens in the story, is well-played by good-looking young Lucas Black. It's a movie of subtlety, humor, and deep human emotion, but I do have a lot of trouble remembering what I think is a lousy title.

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No special effects or much action in this movie, but still it is a good movie to watch.

It is about a hermit (wonderfully played by Robert Duvall) who live in the woods isolated from the towns people. As the story develops, we understand more and more why he decided to live like a hermit: to punish himself for the mistake that he made 40 years or so earlier. In fact, he publicly discloses his mistake in the climax of the movie towards the end.

Bill Murray is very funny, in a serious manner that he plays his role as funeral director. Good cast, good acting, and good plot.

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I thought that "Get Low" would be a hands down winner during this years awards. Great story, outstanding actors wonderful sound track. It has not even been mentioned in this years awards. I have considered that the awards are for political purposes and not for artistic accomplishment and talent. I throughly enjoyed this movie and highly recommend it.

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