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GET LOW
Serious students of film writing and film acting would benefit from a watch of 2009's Get Low, an exquisitely detailed and imaginative blend of fact and folklore that provided one of the most surprisingly entertaining times at the movies I've had in quite awhile.
It is 1930's backwoods Tennessee where we meet Felix (Oscar winner Robert Duvall), a hermit who is feeling mortality closing in on him and decides he wants to buy his way into heaven and convinces a slick funeral parlor owner to throw him a funeral while he's still alive, but the man's wide-eyed assistant finds his moral compass going into overdrive, not wanting to take this man's money without making sure he knows exactly what Felix wants.
I love the way every moment where we believe we know exactly what to expect from a movie when it hits a certain emotional point, but this movie with every 30 minutes or so, adds layers to this story that we don't see coming, and it's while watching Felix reconnect with an old friend and an old flame that Felix's true agenda comes into focus...Felix needs to clear his conscious before he dies publicly and is not sure if he can do it or not.
I love Chris Provenzano and C. Gay Mitchell's screenplay because it is another one of those stories where a central character is partially created and manifests backstory through the way other characters in the story react to him. I love the way everything in town stops whenever Felix passes through and everyone just waits to see what he's going to do next...we are even told that the townfolk don't want him anywhere they're women and children,but for me, everything that this guy ever did wrong or whatever he had to get off his chest was forgiven when we learned he built a church with his bare hands. This was also the first movie I've seen about a hermit where the screenplay actually utilized the word "hermit"...I liked that.
Director Aaron Schneider has employed a first rate production team to bring this beautiful story to the screen, taking some surprising detours that never defy realism or entertainment value. And believe, no denying star power is a major selling point here...Duvall was robbed of another nomination for this onscreen graduate acting course of a performance and he gets rock solid support from Bill Murray who redefines "greasy" with this funeral parlor owner. This performance is so slick that there a couple of scenes in this movie where I have absolutely have no idea whether Murray's character is being sincere and if that was Murray's intention, he nailed it. Lucas Black was warm and sincere as the assistant. Every moment Sissy Spacek spends onscreen with Duvall was golden...God, all the cinematic memories conjured watching those two together again. Bill Cobbs made every moment he had onscreen count as well as the only person who seemed to know the real Felix.
Mention should also be made of extraordinary attention to period detail, not to mention David Boyd's cinematography, solid editing by the director, and absolutely lovely musical score by Jan A. P. Kaczmarek that frames this lovely story that provided rich entertainment and yes, ignited a tear duct or two.
Serious students of film writing and film acting would benefit from a watch of 2009's Get Low, an exquisitely detailed and imaginative blend of fact and folklore that provided one of the most surprisingly entertaining times at the movies I've had in quite awhile.
It is 1930's backwoods Tennessee where we meet Felix (Oscar winner Robert Duvall), a hermit who is feeling mortality closing in on him and decides he wants to buy his way into heaven and convinces a slick funeral parlor owner to throw him a funeral while he's still alive, but the man's wide-eyed assistant finds his moral compass going into overdrive, not wanting to take this man's money without making sure he knows exactly what Felix wants.
I love the way every moment where we believe we know exactly what to expect from a movie when it hits a certain emotional point, but this movie with every 30 minutes or so, adds layers to this story that we don't see coming, and it's while watching Felix reconnect with an old friend and an old flame that Felix's true agenda comes into focus...Felix needs to clear his conscious before he dies publicly and is not sure if he can do it or not.
I love Chris Provenzano and C. Gay Mitchell's screenplay because it is another one of those stories where a central character is partially created and manifests backstory through the way other characters in the story react to him. I love the way everything in town stops whenever Felix passes through and everyone just waits to see what he's going to do next...we are even told that the townfolk don't want him anywhere they're women and children,but for me, everything that this guy ever did wrong or whatever he had to get off his chest was forgiven when we learned he built a church with his bare hands. This was also the first movie I've seen about a hermit where the screenplay actually utilized the word "hermit"...I liked that.
Director Aaron Schneider has employed a first rate production team to bring this beautiful story to the screen, taking some surprising detours that never defy realism or entertainment value. And believe, no denying star power is a major selling point here...Duvall was robbed of another nomination for this onscreen graduate acting course of a performance and he gets rock solid support from Bill Murray who redefines "greasy" with this funeral parlor owner. This performance is so slick that there a couple of scenes in this movie where I have absolutely have no idea whether Murray's character is being sincere and if that was Murray's intention, he nailed it. Lucas Black was warm and sincere as the assistant. Every moment Sissy Spacek spends onscreen with Duvall was golden...God, all the cinematic memories conjured watching those two together again. Bill Cobbs made every moment he had onscreen count as well as the only person who seemed to know the real Felix.
Mention should also be made of extraordinary attention to period detail, not to mention David Boyd's cinematography, solid editing by the director, and absolutely lovely musical score by Jan A. P. Kaczmarek that frames this lovely story that provided rich entertainment and yes, ignited a tear duct or two.