First Hit: Better film than what the previews showed and Duvall is strong in quirky character role.
Get Low is the phrase Felix Bush (Robert Duvall) uses to talk about dying and being put in the ground. Bush is a self-imposed hermit for over 40 years. People have stories about him but as he says in his clipped sentence sort of way; just because that's their story doesn’t mean it is true.
Bush lives by himself on 300 acres of land and shoots at most people that trespass on his land. He’s starting to feel that he is nearing the end of his life so he hires a funeral parlor run by Frank Quinn (played by Bill Murray) and Buddy (played by Lucas Black) to give him a party before he dies. He wants people to come to the party and tell stories about him.
However, what he really wants is to tell his story. He asks his best friend and Reverend Charlie Jackson (played by Bill Cobbs) to tell it for him but Cobbs refuses. To promote interest he offers anyone his land by asking people to send in $5.00 to Quinn Funeral Parlor and with the $5.00, the person gets a chance in the lottery.
Sissy Spacek plays Mattie Darrow who “had a go” with Bush many years earlier and even takes a walk with him on his land. As the day arrives, hundreds of people show up to hear the truth as Bush experienced it.
Duvall makes the most of this role and the minimal dialogue he is given. He carries the burden of the unspoken truth with conviction and it works well. Spacek is good but nothing exceptional as his one time girlfriend. Murray as the funeral director Quinn is solid and is one of Murray’s better serious roles. Black was very strong as Murray’s assistant and becomes Bush's new friend. Aaron Schneider directed this film with the kind of subtlety required to make it work.
Overall: Although not a great film it was solid enough to keep my interest and told a good story.