Review: Get Low

Robert Duvall returns to the big screen in Get Low, a tale of intentions, reputations and secrets too powerful to remain kept in a Depression-era small town.

When recluse Felix Bush (Robert Duvall) comes to town, tongues wag, conjuring up nearly unspeakable tales, each one worse than the last. Rumors range from strange powers to cold-blooded murder, and he's become such a frightful figure that he's the bogeyman children scare themselves with, as they wonder just what the old man does on his land so far from town. Townsfolk are shocked when he shows up in down in his mule-drawn wagon at a time when cars are taking over the road. Felix is planning for a funeral. But not just any funeral, a living one -- where anyone and everyone who has a story about him will come and tell it to the rest of the gathers and Felix himself.

Local funeral-home owner Frank Quinn (Bill Murray) is more than willing to take Bush's money and sets his assistant Buddy (Lucas Black) to ensure a tidy profit. But what seems an eccentric wish turns into a mystery: Why has Bush isolated himself all these years, and what is his relationship with Mattie Darrow (Sissy Spacek), recently returned to town? As the funeral party plans evolve, the mystery deepens, as Felix clearly has an agenda revolving around his past secrets.

Get Low is one of those rare films that that has fully fleshed-out characters personified by actors adept at balancing the contradictions of dark themes and comedy. Bill Murray steals scenes as Quinn, who works every angle to increase his profit, but manages to keep the role from being a caricature. Duvall's role is not a new one, at least on the surface; it's hard not to make some comparisons to a similar one in Secondhand Lions, but Duvall plays the cagey and haunted Felix with a fragility and earnestness that sets it apart from the haunted and crotchety Hub. Spacek only has a supporting role but holds her own against the often overwhelming presence of Duvall. Lucas Black does the same thing; it's hard to believe this young man is the same kid that starred in American Gothic. Rounding out the cast is the always watchable Bill Cobbs as Felix's friend Charlie Jackson, whose presence serves as the moral compass of the film.

Writers Chris Provenzano and C. Gaby Mitchell manage to balance the contradictions between perceptions and realities well, and it's not surprising, when looking at their credits. Mitchell wrote Blood Diamond, and Provenzano writes for the critically acclaimed TV series Mad Men, another narrative that illuminates the duality of public and private lives.

Each character seems to represent a distinct emotional presence in response to Felix and the secret that he's burning to tell, and how the world perceives him. Only Mattie remembers Felix before his self-imposed seclusion, and Buddy has to reconcile the bogeyman from his childhood with the one who needs his assistance but all the while seems to be leading him on. Charlie is clearly friends with Felix yet refuses to speak at his friend's funeral.

Director Aaron Schneider deftly manages the pacing, making it fast enough to keep it interesting while allowing the audience to savor each moment as Felix's reasons are slowly revealed. The script could have been turned into a melodrama or trite comedy in the wrong hands, but Schneider allows the gravitas and levity to organically play out on screen to a complexly satisfying end.

Get Low is a rustic gem of a film. Go see it, or regret it when awards season starts.

Austin connection: Get Low played SXSW 2010.