Reviewed by Andre Chautard
(from the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival)

Directed by: Aaron Schneider
Written by: Chris Provenzano and C. Gaby Mitchell
Starring: Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Lucas Black and Bill Murray

A modest film, modestly realized, the 1930s-set "Get Low" follows a grizzled Robert Duvall - in crazy-old-coot mode once again - as Felix Bush, a hermit who's exiled himself in the deep woods of Tennessee for 40 years after committing some vague, possibly murderous, misdeeds in his past, which are whispered about in hushed tones by the gossipy townsfolk. Feeling that he's near death, he decides to throw himself a funeral party while he's still alive, where the attendees can each tell a story about him, true or not.

Struggling funeral parlor owner Bill Murray is all too happy to help, once he sees the wad of cash Felix has saved up over the years, and dispatches his younger associate, played by Lucas Black ("Jarhead," "Sling Blade"), to gain the old man's trust. Soon it becomes clear that Felix sees the party as his last chance for confession and atonement - to "get low" - if, that is, he can muster the courage to finally reveal his secret.

Inspired by a true story, "Get Low" ambles along pleasantly, and the top-notch cast includes Sissy Spacek as Felix's old flame and ubiquitous character actor Bill Cobbs ("Night at the Museum") as an Illinois preacher who knows the skeleton rotting away in Felix's closet.

But with its minor scope and inevitable uplift, "Get Low" most resembles a Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie (or, in its weaker moments, an episode of "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman"). Indistinctly directed by Aaron Schneider - who won an Oscar for his live-action short "Two Soldiers" in 2003 and is making his feature debut - "Get Low" will most likely appeal to older audiences, but television may have to be where they eventually find it.

Duvall is in fine form, but this is far from his most challenging role. Murray has a few amusing lines, but he seems to be stepping in from a different movie (and era) altogether. It makes one wonder what Murray, famously fussy in accepting roles, saw in this quaint, even antiquated yarn; perhaps the chance to work with Duvall and Spacek was attraction enough. For some audiences, seeing this cast together will be attraction enough as well.

Photo courtesy of Toronto International Film Festival