A delectable rhythm develops among the three men.
You won't
hear a cough or a whisper or the rustle of popcorn when you see "Get Low." It's
different from a respectful quiet; it's that the audience has forgotten where it
is. With the first beat of this terrific movie, we are transported up and into
the story - a rare and wonderful thing.
A riveting
opening lingers on a country house as it burns to the ground. Considerable time
will pass before that awful event takes its place in the story, but we know it
will; it hangs there, a first impression that we know will become a key. Felix
"Bush" Breazeale (Robert Duvall) is a hermit living in his chosen rural
isolation. For forty years, the townspeople have gossiped about him and his past
and now, for reasons we can't imagine, he rides to town in his wagon and ties up
in front of the funeral home where he asks the funeral director to plan a
funeral party for him. He will come to the party; he will speak; and he wants
the townsfolk to retell in public the gossip they have heard about him. "Tell
them to tell one...a story about me. I want to be there." And that's about the
longest sentence you will hear from this man of few words.
Bush delivers
his novel request to Frank (Bill Murray) and his assistant Buddy (Lucas Black)
at the funeral home. The point where all this turns into more than just good
movie comes when we realize that neither Frank nor Buddy is a charlatan. They
fall in step with Felix's plan, and as they do it, a delectable rhythm develops
among the three men.
At this
point, both the widow Mattie (the marvelous Sissy Spacek) and Reverend Charlie
Jackson (Bill Cobbs) slip seamlessly into the story. We know we have been
removed from reality when the crowd, assembling for the funeral party, seems to
be made of alien beings. We have fallen completely into the lives of the few
people who have invited us into their world, and we are feeling protective of
them even though we still have no idea what will happen when the secrecy that
surrounds them finally lifts.
Watching
Duvall, Murray, Spacek, and Black act together without once breaking the mood is
pure pleasure. Everyone slows to Bush's quiet pace to create this tall tale.
Robert Duvall is masterful in this role. Sissy Spacek's Mattie glides gracefully
into the story without any need for explanation of her past. Bill Murray plays
it straight as the funeral director and surprises us with his humanity. Lucas
Black is just right as the young man in training to be a good human being. In
the darkness of the woods, the house, the barn, and the rain, you will feel you
have been indoors for ages and yet you will feel lifted by the sheer gift of a
wonderful story beautifully told.
Copyright (c) Illusion