Duvall and Murray are excellent, but GET LOW stays slow

Get Low is a quiet and tender tale, which tries to be very moving, but it never reaches an adequate emotional level. The film is about a senile old man, marvelously portrayed by Robert Duvall, who wishes to arrange a party for his funeral while he’s still alive. The only funeral parlor in this backwoods town during the depression era is owned by a business-hungry entrepreneur played by Bill Murray. Duvall and Murray try to set up a plan to get the entire town to celebrate this bizarre man’s death. What is it about Bill Murray and his ability to take a subtle, dramatic performance and still make it very humorous? He’s the master at combining seriousness with deadpan humor, creating an altogether, original spin on every performance he’s confronted with. Get Low is very bittersweet, but at the same time, too restrained. Despite Duvall’s bravo performance, I felt there wasn’t enough room for the central character to grow. We are presented with this great, cynical character, who eventually finds redemption from his past sins, but I still didn’t see why the entire town should care. Sure, I cared about the character, and so did the supporting players, but why invite an entire town to a funeral party if they seem not to really bother? Why confess to an array of acquaintances if they had little to do with his past sins? While I was watching the film I couldn’t help but notice how restrained the direction was. Every conversation was pieced together with a simple shot-reverse-shot, and the overall rhythm is dully consistent. I think once Duvall’s character steps out of his shell a bit and we discover more about his back story, the film, in itself, needs to make a subtle shift in tone and rhythm. The cinematography is absolutely gorgeous, and the filmmakers do a great job recreating the depression era, but I felt I needed something more to perceive in accordance to the film’s visual grammar. Please, change up the camera setup, or hold onto the master shot, or get rid of any “safety” cutaways. I understand that the minimal approach to filmmaking keeps the focus on the performances, but personally, I think it should enhance the performances, which it didn’t. Get Low has moments of heart, humor, and sadness, but it never dares to be anything original, despite the original premise. As a result, I can’t say I cared too much about the protagonist nor wish to ever feel the need to be a part of his death. If you want to enjoy the all-encompassing performances, it’s worth checking out. However, I usually look for more than a dynamite cast. **1/2 (out of four stars)