And When I Die, They Will Tell Stories

 

But I Want to Hear Them First

Get Low (2009) – Felix Bush is a hermit who knows two things.  First, everyone in town hates him as much as he hates them.  The second is that his time is coming.  But he wants to hear the stories people will tell about him.  There’s also a story he knows he mus tell them.  So he plans his own funeral, one that will take place before he dies.

Directed by Aaron Schneider

Starring Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Lucas Black, Bill Murray

Why I Liked It – A brilliant cast and a story that has secrets that must be told.

Two weeks in a row for relatively new (by my standards) “little movies” that are stunning stories! “Get Low” is based on a true story of a 1930s hermit in Tennessee who pulled off his own funeral party before he died.  Bush (Duvall) has lived with as little contact with the people around him as possible for forty years.  He’s hairy, filthy, and surly.  There are whispers about what he did, does and might do in the future.  When he decides he needs to hear those stories before he dies, he recruits the local funeral parlor to do the legwork.  The owner, Frank (Murray) and his young assistant Buddy (Black) see different visions of what’s happening, but agree.  Frank sees lots of easy money, while Buddy is troubled by the man he gets to know in Felix.  There’s more than one mystery to the old man.  One involves Mattie Darrow (Spacek), who grew up with Felix, but moved away.  Now she’s back.   They share both history and memories.

Robert Duvall is what he always is in movies, perfectly brilliant.  His characters have depth, emotion and humanity.  We commonly include his name in discussions of the greatest American actors of the 20th Century.  Rightfully so.  Here he’s matched with an actress that I don’t think gets the level of respect she should.  Sissy Spacek routinely creates the same quality of acting and storytelling. Despite her consistent delivery of quality acting and storytelling, she is not acknowledged as one of the greatest actresses of the 20th Century..  It’s a gross oversight, in my opinion.  Here, Miss Mattie carries the marks of someone who has made peace with something.  The revelation of what that might be is peeled back slowly.  The 1930s were a simpler time, but there’s nothing simple about the secrets that lie in uneasy silence.

Nods to the performances of both Lucas Black and Bill Murray.  Black has a way with easy going characters that think and feel more deeply than we might expect.  I’ve liked in him in everything I’ve seen, from “Slingblade” to “NCIS: New Orleans”.  Murray gives a bravura performance as the city slicker funeral director chafing in the slow-go lifestyle of a small southern town.  He gives us measured doses of his perfected smarmy, smart mouth without ever tipping over the edge.  There are layers to Frank Quinn.  Great comedians are often wonderful dramatic actors as well.  Murray is as good here as he’s ever been.

This was a “can’t take my eyes off the screen” movie for me.  The movie clocks in at under an hour and forty-five minutes, and never stalls in that time.  Director Aaron Schneider only shows four directing credits in this century, but handles the story with a sure hand.  

Here’s a gentle, intelligent, beautiful movie that did not get the attention it deserves.  You should search it out.  

(With the coming end of Netflix’s DVD service, I’m going to include where to find lesser known movies like this one.  This one is on Hulu, YouTube, Prime, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, and Vudu)

Rating – **** Recommended