Get Low

Did you ever grow up hearing about some crazy old guy who lived in the forest alone, or a scary guy down the street you weren’t supposed to talk to? Chances are they live alone for a reason, and it’s not too far from a tragic story of guilt and shame.

This film is called, “Get Low”, not to be confused with the popular Flo Rida song. Robert Duvall plays Felix Bush, a character similar to his Boo Radley role from “To Kill a Mockingbird” but here instead as an old hermit wielding a hunting rifle to scare kids off his property. Set in 1930′s Tennessee, the story and character are inspired by true events. No one knows who this man is, but local townspeople have created rumors during his 40-year occupation. Then as Felix in his old age feels a sudden heart murmur, he decides to descend into town to make his own funeral arrangements. When the local priest can’t help him he goes directly to a funeral home with his big wad of cash. This excites funeral director Frank Quinn who is magnificently played by Bill Murray and his dry humor: “Who steals a hearse?”

Even we the audience have no idea why this man lives the way he does, and that’s the ongoing mystery of the film. All of the main characters have a past as they reveal over the course of the film. Frank is a veteran salesman: “I sold 26 of the ugliest cars in the middle of December with the wind blowing so far up my ass I was farting snowflakes into July.” His assistant Buddy admits that he got into the funeral business because of his parents’ deaths. Sissy Spacek appears as an old girlfriend of Felix, but as the film goes on her role becomes a more important one to Felix’s secret. I won’t reveal any of the details because that’s the fun of the whole movie. You’re constantly trying to solve this mystery up until the final moments…but that’s where it loses its momentum. As the climax finally shows, it’s very underwhelming but obviously done so on purpose. All the fuss of inviting some 200 people out into a field is really just a confession of his sins, and the reason he’s put himself away from the world in his self-described “prison”.

Director Aaron Schneider makes his feature film debut after winning the 2003 Oscar for best Short Live Action Film. Having more experience as a cinematographer, he composes scenes with many telephoto shots and long panoramas to create a dreamlike environment. “Get Low” will appeal to audiences who enjoyed “O’ Brother Where Art Thou?” and “There Will Be Blood” in its early 20th century simplicity and charm. As I said earlier I thought the grand finale could have been dramatically bigger, but overall I enjoyed the movie for appealing characters and a good honest story.