GET LOW - Aaron Schneider, 2010
"It's time for me to get low.." Robert Duvall bellows as the early 20th century American hermit, Felix Bush. Bush can be seen as the embodiment of the American man at that time. There was no Dr. Melfi to be consulted re: feelings, and the timbre of the wind was to deny deny deny in matters of emotion. A man, overwhelmed with guilt ad nauseum, might even be judged as rational to take himself deep in the backwoods for the rest of his life. But the residuals from this act have far-reaching effect, as the ripples ride the water top. Duvall's Bush ran away from life and people because of a single act.. a single day. This is at the heart of the story for the audience. We invest ourselves in the mystery behind the why. Why has he lived by himself in the woods for 40 years? From this wonderful question we are either satisfied by the final resolution or left empty. One thing's for sure, Get Low will have you interested in its ending. This is the director, Schneider's, biggest accomplishment.
The accomplished cast (Duvall Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek, and Lucas Black) does well to create authentic Depression-era American characters. Duvall especially is a DELIGHT. His Bush is a mangy, Grizzly Adams-type that easily could've gone the way of cliche in the hands of a lesser actor. However, Duvall maintains a stark humanity in his subject. His pain is evident throughout the film as he comes back into the world he left so long ago. He takes his wadded up roll of dollars to the local priest (a perfect Gerald McRaney) to purchase a funeral. Bush doesn't want just any funeral though, he wants to attend.. so he can hear everyone can tell a story about him, and so he can tell one of his own. Felix has seen the light near the end of his life, and he seeks redemption. This noble impetus is a classic protagonist theme, one that earns endearment, despite what the man has done. Bush is actually turned away by the Priest. But the local funeral home, run by Frank Quinn (Murray) and Buddy (Black), is in dire straits and have no qualms about taking Felix's sweaty old ball of money. So they have a deal for the party, but Frank and Lucas have done much more.. they've become a part of Bush's story. Quickly the townspeople are abuzz as talk of the old hermit's return to society is on the radio, in the papers and in the air. There's talk that Felix killed a man with his bare hands and no shortage of other stories lacking in verisimilitude. There is a romance within stories set in the Depression.. the clothes, the dirt. The fringe towns of the 1920's and 30's, those which survived, were built from nothing. There was no Roman Empire here. America was borne out of the hardships of our ancestors. The genesis of where we are today can be found in stories like Get Low; when people and their stories were the country's top commodity. So, in the end, Get Low is a people story. Duvall's Bush embodies much of what we look for in enigmatic leading man. He is righteous, intelligent, and on a road of virtue we might all wish to seek.
Couldn't have been made without: McCabe and Mrs. Miller,
Acting - 9, Direction - 7, Screenplay - 7, Rewatchability - 8, The Rest - 8, Total - 39
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