Life, death, redemption, and the southern landscape. These are the main ideas and motifs that drive the action in Aaron Schneider's first directorial feature, Get Low. The main premise of the film is that an old curmudgeon, played to perfection by Robert Duvall, wishes to have his own funeral while he is still alive. The film is visually appealing, showing a distinct aptitude for the use of light and dark in order to convey emotion in the characters. It also doesn't hurt that the settings presented in the film are beautiful, large wood crafted churches, intermingle with vast, untouched landscapes, and large white colonial houses, to paint the picture of world not yet tarnished by the pollution of modern man-made life. Even though the setting is picturesque, the plot of the film is rather straight forward, and occasionally too thin. However, the fine actors that Schneider assembled serve to raise the film above it's humble story.
Robert Duvall is a pleasure to watch in the lead role of Felix Bush, while Bill Murray turns out yet another hilarious and nuanced character in his portrayal of Frank Quinn. When I say that he wouldn't have been out of place in some sort of Wes Anderson inspired, Coen Brothers directed western I mean that as a very high compliment. The final piece to this delightful acting trifecta is Sissy Spacek, whose character, Mattie Darrow, is both strong and vulnerable, providing an excellent display of the complexity that exists in the human experience. The only weak part of the cast is Lucas Black, who plays the young idealistic foil to Robert Duvall's grumpy old brute. Black can't really hold his own standing among the veterans. At the same time, it should be said that Black's role is extremely weak. While his character should be the eyes through which the viewer understands the action, he is simply too underdeveloped and too uninteresting to invest yourself in. In the same vein, the movie itself has major issues of rhythm. The film takes a solid 20 minutes too long to get going and even when it does the editing and writing create unnecessary confusion in the viewer.
On the other hand, the score for the film is pitch perfect, building and easing tension with the southern charm that only string basses and banjos can bring. Overall, the film keeps you interested but comes across as underdeveloped and somewhat of a waste of such a talented cast. I wanted to love Get Low but I left feeling only barely satisfied.
Grade: B-
Dan
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