Robert Duvall has a history over the last few decades of selecting some lower-profile but well-crafted characters and films.  Some, like The Apostle, were projects he championed and organized himself.  I don’t believe Get Low came to life the same way, but it still shows Duvall’s eclectic and inspiring character work has not lost a step in his later years.

Supposedly based in part on a true story, Get Low features a strong cast and a litany of interesting characters.  Duvall plays Felix Bush, an elderly hermit living in rural Tennessee in the 1930’s.  For years Bush has been the local bogeyman, about whom stories are spun by children and adults alike.  He rarely - if ever - leaves his cabin and surrounding forest, except to chase away local children who have dared each other to throw rocks at his windows.

The local pastor arrives one day to let Bush know that an old friend has passed away, with little noticeable reaction from Bush.  But this sudden realization that his own days are numbered pushes him into action.  Traveling into town, he visits the church and asks the pastor to arrange a funeral party for him, where people can come and tell any stories they’ve heard about him.  The catch, of course, is that Bush is still alive, and wants to attend.  The pastor refuses, despite the wad of “hermit money” Bush shows him.

By coincidence, while Bush is at the church, Buddy (best known as young Frank Wheatley in Sling Blade; another film with a memorable Duvall appearance) and his family arrive.  As it happens, Buddy works as a clerk for struggling local undertaker Frank Quinn (Bill Murray, in an understated and very amusing performance).  When Buddy mentions he knows of someone looking for a funeral, Quinn takes advantage and directs Buddy to “move into sales” and try to negotiate the deal with this mysterious and generally frightening character.

While Quinn is a bit of a salesman-style con artist, never looking to steal but always looking to sell, it soon becomes apparent that nobody can be sure who is doing the selling and who is being led.  Bush has a way of getting people to do as he pleases, without actually directing their actions.  But the funeral party is of great importance to the lonely old man, and plans move ahead, including newspaper ads and a $5 drawing where the winner will receive Bush’s home and all his pristine timberland upon his actual death.

Sissy Spacek appears as Mattie Darrow, a widow who is friends with Quinn but who clearly has a past with Bush, before his days as a hermit.  As Bush describes it to Buddy and Quinn when asked, “We had a go.”  This moves the spotlight onto his younger days, and the possible reasons why he is so anxious to hold this funeral party.

The plot itself is not particularly strong, but the characters and performances are what make Get Low a very enjoyable film.  You are almost immediately enveloped by the depression-era town and Bush’s homestead, and losing yourself in the characters and their actions is quite effortless.  Buddy serves as the moral center for the action; he wants to give Bush what he wants, but only in so far as he feels comfortable.  Bush and Buddy seem to find an immediate connection, and it is Buddy with whom he bonds and puts his trust when trust is needed.

The climax of the film was, to me, a bit of a weak finish.  But at the same time, the way the plot plays out and the direction of Aaron Schneider keeps the audience from viewing that as the point of the film.  Instead, the journey is the purpose; learning more about these characters, developing them from the cardboard sterotypes to real people with conflicting beliefs and goals. 

Initially only in art houses, I now see Get Low has moved on to some national chains, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding it in your area.  Skip the cartoons and robots and flying bullets for a week and travel back to a quieter time populated by human beings.  And you’ll probably see Duvall on the Oscar list this year.