Get Low

Get Low casts Robert Duvall as Felix Bush, a grizzled old coot who spontaneously decides to throw himself a “funeral party” wherein his various enemies will be afforded the opportunity to tell whatever tall tales they’ve amassed over the years. The movie, which also stars Bill Murray as a struggling mortuary proprietor and Sissy Spacek as a woman from Felix’s past, has been infused with as leisurely an atmosphere as one could possibly envision by director Aaron Schneider, with the ongoing emphasis on the small-town shenanigans of the central characters certainly proving effective in establishing (and sustaining) a distinctly evocative feel. The less-than-propulsive narrative eventually comes to adopt an almost episodic sort of sensibility, as screenwriters Chris Provenzano and C. Gaby Mitchell stresses a series of character-based revelations in the buildup to Felix’s controversial shindig. It’s consequently not surprising to note that while the film is amiable and entertaining from start to finish, there’s never a point at which one is thoroughly wrapped up in this subdued tale. There’s little doubt, however, that Get Low ultimately does fare better than one might’ve anticipated due primarily to Duvall’s expectedly stunning performance, with the strength of the actor’s climactic speech, in which his character tearfully recounts a shameful event from his past, deftly ensuring that the movie ends on an admittedly high note. The end result is an affable piece of work whose individual elements are often more engrossing than the whole, which effectively cements Get Low‘s place as low-key yet thoroughly watchable actor’s showcase.

**1/2 out of ****