Image from Reverse Shot.
In Get Low, Robert Duvall plays an elderly small-town hermit in the 1930s who has the rather unique idea of holding a “living funeral” – so he can enjoy himself and so he hear what stories have been told about him by the townsfolk in the forty years he’s been in solitude.
Felix Bush has been living in a tiny house in the middle of the woods for a long, long time. It’s a house he’s built himself, underscoring his endless independence from the rest of the world. Even at his advanced age, he chops his own wood and tends to his faithful mule, living off the land. One day, realizing that his days may be numbered, Felix heads into the local town to arrange for his funeral ceremonies. He’s not able to convince the local preacher (Gerald McRaney) to hold a service for him, but Buddy (Lucas Black), a local funeral-home worker, overhears Felix and later visits the loner at his home with an offer for the funeral home to help him out.
We are introduced to perhaps the only person in town who really knows Felix, a widow named Maddie Darrow (Sissy Spacek), back in town after her own prolonged absence, a woman who appears to have had a past with Felix. Maddie hasn’t seen Felix in, yes, about forty years. This is not a coincidence, of course. We are also shown how the rest of the townsfolk feel about Felix Bush – they each seem to have heard some kind of diabolical story about the man, that he’s in league with the devil, that he’s killed women and children, and so on. You know how stories propagate.
Duvall is at the stage in his career where he’s playing a lot of crusty old gents. His Felix Bush is taciturn and reticent. Is he merely not used to interacting with people, or does he have something to hide? As we learn more about him, we come to this quick conclusion: Felix Bush is no dummy. And Duvall is one of those tremendous actors who have the chops to say much while saying little, or nothing. When you look at his craggy face, you get the sense that there’s more than meets the eye; just how much of what happens is something he’s meant to happen is open for debate.
He’s surrounded by a capable cast. Spacek is terrific in her meaty role as a light from Bush’s past. Black is, happily enough, not just a golly-gee go-getter for the funeral home; he’s smart, if not worldly. (Although few were in 1930.) And Bill Murray, who’s transformed quite nicely into a dramatic actor with comedic undertones, is also a good fit as the funeral-home director who sees an opportunity for a cash infusion with Felix’s big funeral.
Best of all, when the payoff does come – in, yes, the living funeral – it’s a satisfying one. We do learn Felix’s big secret, and it’s a powerful scene done with all the honesty and subtlety you’d want.
Get Low was directed by first timer Aaron Schneider, who does a pretty good job of keeping a healthy pace in what looks like it’d be a slow-moving movie. Most of the scenes involve Felix himself, of course, and he’s really not Mr. Excitement. Still, the movie never seems to lag; in fact, like its lead character, it seems to move quickly while not really moving much at all. This isn’t a mere character study or slice-of-life feature; those can be wonderful in an arty, abstract sort of way. Felix Bush is a compelling character with an intriguing backstory, making the final scenes all the more powerful.
Get Low: ***
