The New York Grapevine, Movie Review: GET LOW New Movie "Get Low", Bill Murray, Robert Duvall

Movie Review: GET LOW
by Paul Hansen
Friday, August 13th, 2010
New York, NY
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Those seeking a break from the CGI infested blockbusters of the summer might want to see the technically modest drama Get Low starring Robert Duvall and Bill Murray. Set in the 1930’s, the film focuses on the elderly Felix Bush played by Duvall. Bush has spent the last forty years of his life living alone in the outskirts of a Southern town. His self-imposed isolation stems from overwhelming guilt over an incident which occurred decades in the past. This event is not fully revealed until the end of the film. A startling scene of a mansion on fire in the opening frames of the movie gives a general hint of the disaster that consumed Bush’s life.

A number of bizarre stories have emerged about Felix over the years. In response to these rumors, Felix decides to arrange his own funeral and explain and assuage his guilt to the nearby townspeople. He hires Frank Quinn (an undertaker played by Murray) to make the arrangements. When his assistant reminds Murray that it is unusual to have a funeral for someone who is still alive, Murray waives off the concern as a mere detail.

Duvall’s portrayal of Felix is certainly Oscar worthy material. He plays a character whose emotional horizons have been severely limited and focused by forty years of obsession and virtual seclusion. He carries with him a crippling, devouring sense of guilt not unworthy of the protagonist Raskolnikov in Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment.

It was an inspired choice to cast Bill Murray in the role of the undertaker. Even in his sedate moments, Murray almost always communicates a sly sense of humor and irony, which effectively leavens the dark atmosphere of Get Low. To his credit Murray modulates his comedic talents to fit within the serious ambiance of the film. In watching Get Low, a viewer senses that Murray has reservoirs of acting ability that have not been fully tapped. It would be truly interesting to see him perform more non-comedic roles.

The film also features Sissy Spacek in the role of Duvall’s former girlfriend. Ms. Spacek always has a warm, endearing, graceful presence on screen. Her acting is very much attuned to the underlying tragedy of the story. The film also benefits from some very strong casting in the supporting roles with Lucas Black as Murray’s assistant and Bill Cobbs as Duvall’s pastor. Cobbs utters some memorable lines about people generally seeking clear boundaries between good and evil, only to find that the forces can often be intertwined.

Get Low is partly inspired by the exploits of Tennessean Felix Breazeale who staged his own funeral while still very much alive in 1938. One can only hope that Mr. Breazeale’s life was happier than the cinematic incarnation. Several descendants of the Zanuck Hollywood dynasty (Harrison and Dean) acted as producers of the film.

In addition to Dostoyevksy, the movie evokes the emotional quality of a tale by Edgar Allen Poe with its morbid images of fires and undertakers. The film functions as a cautionary tale of the devastating consequences of being unable to heal psychic pain or of not being able to move on from troubling events of the past.

Again, Get Lowis dark. At the conclusion of the film, audiences would be forgiven if they felt the need to slip into the DVD player one of Murray’s lighter films. Stripesand Meatballs would be good places to start.

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Last updated by Paul Hansen - Friday, August 13th, 2010 - New York, NY