Get Low - Movie Review

Get Low is the cinematic telling of a folk tale from Tennessee, a folk tale that has several parts of truth entwined within it. During the 1930’s, deep in Tennessee woods there lived a hermit. There were many stories about this hermit and none of them painted him in a pleasant light. Some people believed him to be a murderer, others a rapist, but for whatever reason besides a disdain for humanity this man exiled himself to nature with no interest for human contact.


One night, the hermit (Robert Duvall; Lonesome Dove, Assassination Tango) has a profound dream. He awakens from the dream convinced that he is about to die, but when he wakes up the next morning he believes the dream to be a revelation. He wants everyone with a story to tell about him to attend his funeral - - - - while he’s still alive.

The hermit’s name is Felix Bush. He goes to a nearly bankrupt funeral home run by Frank Quinn (Bill Murray; Ghostbusters, Broken Flowers) and his assistant Buddy (Lucas Black; American Gothic, All The Pretty Horses) so that they can assist him in making the necessary arrangements to throw this “funeral party,” and once Frank gets an eye on the amount of money Felix is carrying around with him, Frank is more than excited to oblige Felix.

However, complications arise when Felix’s old girlfriend returns to town. Mattie Darrow (Sissy Spacek; Carrie, Four Christmases) may have been Felix’s girlfriend but she was never his first love, and behind that secret lays a great tragedy and the secret to the mystery of the hermit in the woods.

Get Low was a pleasure to watch. All of the actors were in top form, even though Lucas Black hasn’t really changed his character approach his whole career, but he is looking manlier these days. Bill Murray once again plays a quirky, flawed individual but this one is not as big a schmuck as most of his other parts. Frank has his own story to tell and when he does, you can’t help but cheer for him.

Robert Duvall once again turns in an outstanding performance. His age is very apparent in this film and it made me sad to think that his time could very well be near, and to me that added to the impact that this movie is capable of, but when he was hiding under that hermit garb of bushy hair and beard, and even though I knew it was Robert Duvall in the role I still had to ask myself – is that Robert Duvall?

These movies about past eras and small nature towns fit right into the director’s forte. Aaron Schneider (Simon Birch, Kiss the Girls) has a knack for making nature as much of a character as the people are, and he seems capable of tapping into the mindset of the folks that lived in the past.

Get Low was a treat. There was no one to dislike in the film, it was all about telling stories and learning the truth about Felix and everyone else questioning their own will or their own conscience. It was an excellent character piece of which I would not mind a repeat viewing.