Get Low mixes heart, humor with folksy style

In an industry that has been over-run by car chases, explosions and CGI animals, it might be hard for a simple, independent film like Get Low to get much credit.

The movie, which was directed by Aaron Schneider, ran a limited release in theaters last July and was released on DVD last month.

The movie is set in 1930‘s Tennessee and stars Robert Duvall as Felix Bush, a crotchety old hermit who decides to throw a funeral party for himself – before his death.

This is the perfect role for Duvall, who began his film career playing another infamous hermit, Boo Radley, in the 1962 version of To Kill a Mockingbird.

In this role, Duvall is the perfect mixture of humor and pathos. He manages to turn a scruffy mountain man into someone who is lovable and dignified.

Duvall's character is offset by sleazy funeral director Frank Quinn, played by Bill Murray. While I normally like Murray, I thought his performance in this movie fell a little flat. He was supposed to add some comedic relief but, while the lines he delivered were funny, they just didn't have any spark.

I found myself laughing at Duvall more than Murray. Some of the funniest parts of the film involved the contrast between Duvall's simple, realistic attitude and Murray's fruitless attempts to get him to conform.

One of the performances that did stand out in this movie was Lucas Black, who plays Quinn's assistant, Buddy Robinson. Ashamed as I am to admit it, the only other movie I have seen Black in was The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, and since that movie was pretty awful, I didn't really know what to expect from him.

But Black surprised me with a rather tender performance. He brought a sense of innocence and naiveté to a movie filled with characters jaded by their pasts.

The film also features Sissy Spacek as the sister of a woman Bush had an affair with 40 years ago. It is the end result of this affair that sends Bush into seclusion, as atonement for his wrongdoings.

Throughout the film, we learn that Bush is not throwing himself a party simply to indulge his ego, he is throwing the party because he wants to tell a story but is too afraid to do it himself.

Get Low weaves a powerful tale of atonement and redemption and, like the character of Felix Bush himself, does not put on airs. It is a simple but affecting film that deserves a look.