Get Low (Review)

Get Low is the kind of movie that performs its job well enough but then you move on without much thought of it. It looks terrific, the performances are entirely convincing, and the story isn’t uninteresting, it’s just for one reason or another there isn’t much in the way of resonance, and as I drove away from the theater afterwards my thoughts didn’t stay on this film for long. Part of that could have been the truck that almost ran me over, but that’s beside the point.

The plot is pretty basic: Felix Bush (Robert Duvall) has cut himself off from all civilization, and is your pretty normal “Get off my lawn!” character. He goes to town to ask for a funeral, but while he’s alive. The church is less than enthused, but Frank Quinn (Bill Murray) sees a chance to make some money that hasn’t come in for his funeral home in a while. They live in a town where no one has died in a very long time, and the Quinn Funeral Home needs business, so he embraces Felix’s request. The rest of the film chronicles the planning of the funeral, but it becomes clear that Felix seems to have an ulterior motive.

My lone, yet rather considerable, complaint about Get Low is that it seems intent on low-keying itself into nonexistence. The camera doesn’t try to communicate anything, but instead merely provides a window into the world, which admittedly looks impressive. The pacing by director Aaron Schneider keeps the movie dragging its feet, and all energy is forced to come from the performances of the actors, which are pretty terrific.

Bill Murray has always been a good actor outside of comic work, which is something people seem to forget. This is a pretty terrific performance here, and whenever he appears onscreen a smile appears almost instantaneously. The character is funny without being a clown, and certainly greedy without being Scrooge McDuck. This is a man who you can recognize in real life. Another performance that I enjoyed, but won’t get much recognition, is that of Lucas Black as Murray’s partner Buddy. He is the lone character who is happily married, and it remains that way the whole movie. There were several moments I feared the film would devolve into clichéd marriage-problem territory, but it keeps its head above water.

However, and rightfully so, much of the attention goes to Robert Duvall as the film’s main curmudgeon. There is more depth to this character than most angry old people, and I think credit for that goes more to Duvall than the material. He isn’t grumpy all the time, just around certain people. He develops a form of friendship with Frank and Buddy, and he only responds aggressively when he feels threatened. I don’t know if Duvall will be nominated for an Oscar, but it’s the kind of performance that begs for one.

Get Low is not nearly as aggressively destitute as The American, which is how I may make it sound, but throughout I wanted a bit more. Nothing really ever resonated on a deep level with me, and my interest stopped at the screen. Sometimes that’s enough, and I think this film intended itself to be small, but I felt this is a story that could have gone in more interesting directions. Instead it tells its story and gets out of your way, and it does that just about perfectly. It holds the same impact that a picture book does to a child: It's a great way to spend some time, but 5 minutes later they need something new.

Rating: (out of 4)