Get Low (film)

Get Low
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Aaron Schneider
Screenplay by	Chris Provenzano C. Gaby Mitchell Scott Seeke
Story by	Chris Provenzano Scott Seeke
Produced by	Dean Zanuck David Gundlach
Starring	Robert Duvall Sissy Spacek Bill Murray Lucas Black Bill Cobbs
Cinematography	David Boyd
Edited by	Aaron Schneider
Music by	Jan A. P. Kaczmarek
Production companies	K5 International Zanuck Independent David Gundlach Productions Lara Enterprises TVN Butcher's Run Films
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Classics
Release dates	September 12, 2009 (2009-09-12) (TIFF) July 30, 2010 (2010-07-30) (United States)
Running time	100 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$7 million
Box office	$9,176,933

Get Low is a 2009 drama film directed by Aaron Schneider, written by Chris Provenzano and C. Gaby Mitchell, and starring Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek, Lucas Black, Gerald McRaney, Bill Cobbs, Lori Beth Edgeman, Andrea Powell, Rebecca Grant, Scott Cooper, and Chandler Riggs. The motion picture was filmed entirely on location in Georgia, and support for the production was provided by the Georgia Department of Economic Development.

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and is distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. For his performance, Robert Duvall was awarded the Hollywood Award for Best Actor in October 2010. The film was released on July 30, 2010, in the United States. It received positive reviews from critics.

Plot

No one really knows Felix Bush (Robert Duvall), who lives as a hermit deep in the woods. Rumors surround him, such as how he might have killed in cold blood, and that he's in league with the devil. So the town is surprised when Felix shows up in town with a fat wad of cash, demanding a "funeral party" for himself. Frank Quinn (Bill Murray), the owner of the local funeral parlor, coveting Bush's wad of cash, agrees to advertise a funeral party at which the townsfolk will be invited to tell Felix Bush the stories they've heard about him. To insure a good turnout, a lottery is organized, with Bush's property as the prize. Many people buy tickets. However, nobody wants to tell a story because people fear reprisal from Bush.

Things get more complicated when an old mystery is remembered, involving a local widow named Mattie Darrow (Sissy Spacek), who was Bush's girlfriend in their youth, and her deceased sister, Mary Lee. With the help of a preacher who insists that Bush "tell her the truth," Bush tells those gathered at his funeral party, particularly Mattie, what happened forty years earlier. He reveals his affair with Mattie's married sister, Mary Lee. He confesses to Mattie that it was Mary Lee who was his true love, his only love. They made plans to run away together, and when she didn't arrive at the agreed place, he went to her home to search for her. He discovered that her husband had attacked her with a hammer, knocking her out. The husband threw a kerosene lamp against a wall to set the house on fire and kill himself, the unconscious Mary Lee, and Bush. Bush freed himself from the attacking husband, but as his clothes caught fire, he also saw Mary Lee catch fire. As he went to put the fire out, he felt himself flying through the window, possibly pushed by the husband, and he was unable to re-enter the house to save Mary Lee.

Suffering from survivor's guilt and refusing to ask for forgiveness from God because he didn't feel God was the victim, Bush secreted himself away in the woods in order to "jail himself" for his responsibility for bringing about Mary Lee's death: his affair with Mary Lee had prompted the husband to murder her the night she was to escape and meet Bush. His self-imposed exile was designed to deny himself a wife, children, and a family.

Relieved at having told his tale, he knows he now can "get low" (die) in peace. Mattie forgives him, and they are brought together again by their shared loss. Bush dies shortly after his funeral party and smiles gently at the ghostly image of Mary Lee waiting for him down the lane.

Cast

• Robert Duvall as Felix Bush
• Sissy Spacek as Mattie Darrow
• Bill Murray as Frank Quinn
• Lucas Black as Buddy Robinson
• Gerald McRaney as Horton
• Bill Cobbs as Charlie Jackson
• Lori Beth Edgeman as Kathryn Robinson
• Andrea Powell as Bonnie
• Rebecca Grant as Joan
• Scott Cooper as Carl
• Blerim Destani as Gary
• Chandler Riggs as Tom

Production

The film is loosely based on a true story that happened in Roane County, Tennessee, in 1938. Robert Duvall's character, Felix Harry Bush, was based on a real person named Felix Breazeale.

Critical response

The film has had positive reviews, with an 86% "fresh" rating (96% from top critics, out of 27 reviews) on review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 112 reviews. Robert Duvall has had overwhelming praise from critics with John Anderson of The Wall Street Journal predicting an Oscar nomination, writing, "...Mr. Duvall, who's probably looking at another Oscar nomination next year, gives it a heart."

Casey Burchby at DVD Talk noted that Get Low contains "a wonderful group of performances by a dream cast. Surprisingly, none of the leads were in the running for any of 2010's major awards."

Box office

The film opened to four cinemas on July 30, 2010, taking in a weekend gross of $90,900, averaging $22,725 per cinema. This placed the film at twenty-third overall for the weekend of July 30 to August 1, 2010. As of January 2011, the film has grossed $9,100,230 in North America and $401,361 in other territories, totaling $9,513,225 worldwide.

External links

• Official website
• Get Low at IMDb
• Get Low at Rotten Tomatoes
• True story of Felix "Bush" Breazeale
• West Coast Midnight Run, Volume 2010, Coming Soon Film Reviews – Get Low, editorial essay and documentary on Get Low