Get Low

This as close to a perfect movie as you will see this year. A simple story about an old codger who wants something in the nature of an odd request. His odd deeds have made him a legend in the area in which he lives (think the deep south). He has been alone for 4o years living in a run-down cabin and chasing kids and people off his property with a gun. He is the quintessence of a deeply unhappy mournful cranky old man, and he is played by one the great actors of his generation Robert Duvall, joined by an outstanding cast--Bill Murray. Sisy Spacek and others. It deals with life (and death) memories of youth, and deep love between a man and a woman which has lasted a long time. I will not give you the plot, just ask you see this movie as soon as possible. Despite its shoestring budget, it is a GREAT film, written produced and acted by some of the greatest talents of our time. Mr Duvall is worth seeing in this tale, but the supporting cast makes it a superb experience. If you want see a great film crafted by genius, then I urge you not miss it!!

"Get Low" is, in part, considered a psychological drama, it's also one of those films that can be classified as almost anything because the actors are able to add so many layers of interest with intrigue and comedy.

Starring an almost unrecognizably old Robert Duvall and a Jarmusch-styled Bill Murray, respectively, as a hermit wanting to host his own funeral and a funeral home director wanting his business. On the surface, it's a very slow drama because that is essentially all that happens, Murray helps Duvall plan his own funeral. But we are saved from a tedious drama by the actors' comedic timings. There's a lot of dry humour that I found myself laughing out-loud many times. The significance of the film is the psychology in its heart. Throughout, Duvall drops hints as to what his character is all about. You find yourself thinking about who he really is, and what he really means with every line he says. Robert Duvall just may be the best subtle actor.

"Get Low" is very stylized. Set in the 1920s, the director and cinematographer paid attention to the lighting, casting shadows where they wanted them, providing a dark atmosphere when needed to echo the times of the depression-era. I'll also call the humour stylized, it's dry, and it can take you a minute to make sure you got it right.

The one down-side is that the film-makers may have made it a bit too artsy and not accessible enough, because otherwise this could be up for every major award. At least we can rest assured that the Academy knows where to find Mr. Duvall.

It's hard to classify this movie, so I'll just say it's a lot different from most fare you see at the theater these days.

What it offers up, I thought, was superb acting and cinematography. It's no surprise the acting is good when you have the likes of Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Sissy Spacey and Lucas Black. All of them are excellent.

This is so beautifully filmed you swear you are right in the middle of rural America in the 1930s. Shot-after-shot is a marvel. The story is slow but it should keep your interest as you wonder what "Felix Bush" (Duvall) is going to do at the end. You're never quite what he's going to say and do, at any time, actually, which keeps the story intriguing. I guess you could say that for anyone was had been a hermit for 40 years, living alone in the woods.

I suspect this film didn't get the publicity and acclaim it should have gotten, despite it's well-known cast. It's a "sleeper," and highly-recommended.

A charming sleeper of a tale set in the 1930s. A reclusive hermit, the subject of mistrust and rumor by generations of local townsfolk, nearing the end of his life suddenly decides to throw himself a funeral party and invites the entire town. Superlative and nuanced performances are turned in by Robert Duvall, as the old man, Sissy Spacek, as a widowed former acquaintance, and Bill Murray, as the funeral director who agrees to organize the event. Fantastic supporting performances are also given by Lucas Black, as the Funeral director's more moral assistant, and Bill Cobbs, as the Reverend who comes to speak at the funeral. The director, Aaron Schneider, captures the period extremely well and the cinematography and musical score are wonderful. The movie handles tough subjects like death, regret, suspicion and guilt with wisdom and a gentle humor that allows the audience to take it all in like one big ice cream sundae. Bravo ! Go see it ! Tell your friends to go see it !!

While Hollywood has consistently examined the "angry young man," his older counterpart is normally portrayed by a character actor in a minor role. Robert Duvall is no stranger to portraying off-beat, aging male leads, but here he accepts the ultimate challenge -- drawing an audience in to examine the life of a self-made hermit with a widely reviled yet barely explained past.

Bill Murray and Sissy Spacek, a dream team supporting cast, also portray vintage folk with secrets of their own. This partly frontier western, largely psychological mystery unravels slowly in scenes with little or no dialog. What dialog there is offers several levels of potential meaning through pregnant pauses, ill-defined sentence fragments and questions with no immediate answers.

The viewer either chooses to fill in the blanks by closely observing peripheral elements in each scene, or simply awaits a climax that ultimately explains everything. That scene never quite tells all, but intentionally and inventively so. It's the former viewer for whom this film has been so meticulously well-crafted to side-step the clearly declarative and ultimately obvious.

The score is a particularly captivating mix of period Americana and original music that resonates with the time and place -- even when performed by a Polish orchestra or under-appreciated U.S. folk/country performers of our own era.

In short, GET LOW is a niche film that quietly rewards a cinema-loving audience for investing its full attention. Leave your smart phone at home for the best multi-tasking experiences are built into the work itself. The 2009 copyright date indicates Sony Classics, after due deliberation, acquired a "hard sell" that other studios overlooked.

An early October Oscar season screening of this December U.S. release ended with much applause, atypical for guild audiences. Almost half even stayed through the credits, an indication that many involved in the film on all levels are worthy of name-recognition "for your consideration.