The title of this film comes from Felix Bush's (Robert Duvall) key belief: “It’s about time I get low.” Felix has lived a long time, and most of it has been in isolation. He is known only as a legend in his 1930s Tennessee town as the hermit with 100 stories about him. One day, he returns to the city in order to plan his own funeral, which he would like to attend. Alive.
Bill Murray and Lucas Black run the local funeral parlor. Everybody dies, but business is slow lately. So even though Felix’s request is unorthodox, they quickly agree. Felix wants everyone who has a story about him to attend. Director Aaron Schneider does a great job with creating an uneasy town around Felix, but I wish we were able to hear more of these mysterious stories.
So much of "Get Low" is about what people know and don’t know concerning Felix's secret, which seems to be what caused him to retreat to his cabin in the woods. His old girlfriend, played by Sissy Spacek, knows the truth and his friend, played by Bill Cobbs, wants him to confess his sins. There are hints and dream sequences, but none of it is very satisfying once it is all revealed. It never challenges our perception of Felix.
There is a contradiction inherent with "Get Low." I was never interested in Felix’s story, but I was interested in Duvall’s performance. Every moment is so well realized and enthralling. When he and Murray are bouncing back and forth, it’s endlessly entertaining.
The film really works when it is more focused on the funeral home. Murray gets all of the best lines in the movie and handles them as a mixture between his former sarcastic persona and his newer "Rushmore"-esque tired man. I liked his relationship with Black, first as an occasionally distant co-worker and then as a father figure. Black’s morality towards his profession was also relieving.
There are a lot of likable things about this movie, especially the acting. The script falls apart when you dig deeper. Too often, characters describe Felix in interesting ways and don't allow the film to just let us see him do interesting things. Still, "Get Low" knows how to work its dialogue, and the actors know how to fill the scenes with life.
The DVD and Blu-ray have a handful of rather lackluster featurettes. It’s mostly the actors or producers describing what you already know. Most of them are just film clips anyway, which makes it feel redundant. There are also scenes of them on the red carpet, a Q&A and a commentary track with Duvall, Spacek, Schneider and producer Dean Zanuck.
Film: 3 Yaps Extras: 2.5 Yaps