vernon film society
Bringing the best in world and Canadian film to film lovers of Vernon and the North Okanagan
GET LOW
Director: Aaron Schneider
Cast: Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek, Lucas Black, Gerald McRaney
Run Time: 100 minutes
Country: USA
Year: 2010
Language: English
Rating: PG (Violence and coarse language)
An audience favourite at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival®, Get Low is a poignant and surprisingly insightful folk tale about pain, guilt, loss and loneliness, and how - if we?re lucky – it?s never too late to earn a little friendship and forgiveness. American legend Robert Duvall returns to the screen in the larger-than-life lead role of Felix Bush, a notorious hermit who rejoins society only to plan his own funeral party.
For the past forty years, Felix (Duvall, Crazy Heart, The Road) has lived as a hermit deep in the Tennessee backwoods. Rumours about his violent past abound, and he lends credibility to those accounts by brandishing (and occasionally firing) a shotgun when un-welcome guests ignore the sign on the road to his property: "No damn trespassing. Beware of mule."
One day Bush walks into the local funeral parlour and announces to Frank Quinn (Bill Murray, The Limits of Control, Broken Flow-ers), ""Bout time for me to get low. Down to business. I need a funeral." More importantly, he wants a funeral party, an event that will draw all his friends and enemies to his shack in the woods for a final reckoning – and he wants to throw the party while he?s still alive.
Based on a true story, Get Low has the feel of a classic American tale. Its style evokes westerns both old and new. There is some-thing of Robert Altman?s McCabe & Mrs. Miller in first time director Aaron Schneider?s storytelling, whose straightforward simplicity is reflected in the evocative bluegrass-flavoured score and by the film?s richly composed images.
The beauty of the cinematography serves as a backdrop to resonant performances from each actor. Lucas Black (Jarhead, All the Pretty Horses) more than holds his own as the undertaker?s sidekick, playing against Murray?s sly rhythms with upright sincerity. Taking the role of Felix?s former lover, Sissy Spacek (North Country, In the Bedroom) is a pure pleasure to watch in her scenes with Duvall.
And for Duvall, Get Low marks a welcome return. Always a minimalist, he is now at the stage where he can do so much more on-screen with so much less. His every moment here is a lesson in living before the camera. It stands with his best-ever performances, lending this classic story from a bygone era a quiet majesty.
"With a mix of sly humor, homespun grace and affecting poignancy, Get Low casts a well-nigh irresistible spell while spinning a Depression-era folk tale from the Tennessee backwoods." – Joe Leydon, Variety
"Resonating with warmth and sardonic wit and containing a majestic performance by Robert Duvall." - Rex Reed, New York Observer
Reviews: www.metacritic.com/movie/get-low/critic-reviews
Official Site: www.sonyclassics.com/getlow/
