33.

Get Low

U.S., 2009
103 minutes, Feature, Color
Actors: Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek, Lucas Black, Bill Cobbs, Gerald
McRaney
Director: Aaron Schneider
Screenwriters: Chris Provenzano, C. Gaby Mitchell
Rated: PG-13 (for some thematic material and brief violent content)

Synopsis and Theological Reflection

During his long career, Robert Duvall has given life to a host of memorable, eccentric
characters – from the recluse Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird, to the insecure Major
Frank Burns in MASH; from the chilling Lt. Col. Kilgore in Apocalypse Now or the Lt.
Col. “Bull” Meechum in The Great Santini to the self-proclaimed apostle E. F. who
baptizes himself in The Apostle. And then there is his Oscar winning performance in
Tender Mercies as Mac Sledge, a broken-down singer who finds God through the love of
another. In the 2009 independent film, Get Low, Duvall introduces us to the backwoods’
hermit Felix Bush.

The movie’s ostensible plot concerns a mysterious, crotchety recluse who has, after forty
years, become tired of the townspeople speculating about him and his past. All they really
know of him is his “No D*** Trespassing - Beware of Mule” sign, with his shotgun to
back it up. So Felix, who hasn’t shaved since becoming a hermit, comes to town with a
plan. He first approaches a minister who is flummoxed by the request for the clergyman
to preside over Felix’s funeral - to be carried out while he is still alive! He is forced to
hire the failing funeral-home owner Frank Quinn (Bill Murray) to create the funeral party
instead. Felix wants to invite anyone and everyone from the surrounding area to tell their
tall tale about him as part of the ceremony’s reminiscences.

But Robert Duvall’s character has other plans for the funeral as well - plans that slowly
unfold throughout the movie as he interacts with the droll Quinn, his innocent assistant
Buddy Robinson (Lucas Black), and two friends who knew him in days long gone -- the
Rev. Charlie Jackson (Bill Cobbs) and the widowed Mattie Darrow, a long-ago girlfriend
wonderfully played by Sissy Spacek. Much of the fun in seeing the movie is watching
consummate actors with pitch-perfect portrayals, relishing their rolls and enjoying the
company of others similarly accomplished. In particular, the interaction between the
sarcastic Frank (Murray) and the cranky Felix (Duvall) is a delight to behold. As Duvall
portrays him, Felix is a mixture of orneriness, resilience, and grief, with a hint of menace
thrown in for good measure. But we do know that though Felix is aware of his larger-
than-life status among his neighbors, he is never fooled into confusing that “myth” with
his reality. He is not seeking continued notoriety by the live funeral; something deeper is
at play. His very humanity is at stake.
Preparations for the live funeral turn to eliciting the services of Rev. Jackson, someone
out of Felix’s past who is privy to the recluse’s secret. By this point in the story the
viewer has come to care deeply about this old man who is suffering from some
mysterious ailment--of body and soul. The story’s pacing is purposely slow, giving time
and space for Duvall to explore the wounded, but wily, soul of Bush. And as with other
of Duvall’s roles, what the viewer experiences is the privilege of being ushered deeply
into the mystery of another human being. As we leave the theater, our feelings of sadness,
joy, humor, and even reverence for life have been awakened. We have encountered life in
the deep.

The story was developed from the legends surrounding a Depression-era, East Tennessee
eccentric, Felix Breazeale, who lived alone with his mule and his shotgun in the
backwoods. And before dying, he did, in fact, throw himself a “living funeral,” with
lively music and a raffle to give his land away to help attract a crowd. It is said that
thousands came to the event, and thus many stories about the man sprang up over time.
It is this “rural legend” that provides the movie’s screenwriters their basic plot line. But
the story, as is often the case, is really about something else. Plotlines alone are not
sufficient; their data must be shaped by a perspective, a lens through which the story can
be viewed. To be a successfully told story, there must be a theme, a hook, an interpretive
point of view, through which we understand the events that happen. And so it is with Get
Low. The plot is simply the frame on which to hang a more important exploration of the
meaning of confession and forgiveness.

Felix has tried to atone for his past by punishing himself – banishing himself to be more
precise. He has tried to do good deeds as a form of penance. But the recluse comes to
realize that it is only through confession that forgiveness can happen and humanity be
restored. This is something he alone can do; but it is not something that can be done
alone. It is difficult to portray convincingly on the screen the spiritual practice of
confession. But Duvall reveals effectively to viewers both the yearning for it, and its
transforming power. As Felix speaks at his own funeral, secrets are revealed, truths told,
and relationships have a chance to be restored. That is a lot to accomplish for one actor
and one speech! But you believe Felix, because you believe Duvall. You sense, as Roger
Ebert suggests, that “Felix must have been rehearsing that speech for years.”

To be sure, Get Low is not as explicitly religious as either Tender Mercies or The Apostle.
Perhaps it is best to speak of the movie as having a “spirituality of everyday life.”
Forgiveness remains on the horizontal level. But though the spirituality remains in the
lower case, it is none the less grace-filled and profound. Felix’s final revelatory speech at
his funeral is just that—something that provides perspective and new possibility both for
those at the funeral and for the film audience watching. Some may even think of the
words of Paul: “…if anyone has caused pain…you should forgive and console him, so
that he may not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I urge you to reaffirm your love
to him.” (2 Cor. 2: 5-8)

Felix tried to forgive himself. In the end, it could only be a community event.
Dialogue Texts

Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

Psalm 32:1

Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which
has five porticoes. In these lay many invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was
there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew
that he had been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” The
sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is
stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.”
Jesus said to him, “Stand up, take your mat and walk.” At once the man was made well,
and he took up his mat and began to walk.
John 5:2-9

…if anyone has caused pain…you should forgive and console him, so that he may not be
overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I urge you to reaffirm your love to him.
2 Cor. 2: 5-8

Discussion Questions and Clip Conversations

All clips are available for viewing at ReelSpirituality.com/Books/God-In-The-Movies.

We have also listed the timestamp range of the scenes for your reference.

1.“Get low” [08:50—11:05]. Felix walks into church to talk to Rev. Gus Horton (note
the visual images that surround them). He says, “About time for me to get low--down to
business.” What other meanings might “get low” have in this film? As Rev. Gus and
Felix “get low” their conversation revolves around peace with God and forgiveness. With
whose working definition of forgiveness does our culture most identify, and/or do you?
Why? Why does Felix walk out angry?

2. “Confession and Forgiveness Revisited” [51:00—56:00; 57:17—58:30]. Felix visits

his old friend Rev. Charlie Jackson at the church Felix built many years ago. Again the
conversation centers on confession and forgiveness, but this time not just to/from God,
but to/from someone else. Compare the minister’s and Felix’s responses to your own
view of confession and forgiveness. In this scene Buddy is also present. What new view
of Felix does he receive from meeting Rev. Jackson and being in the church? How might
forgiveness and beauty interact? Lastly, on his way home Felix goes to the grave of
someone and says, “They keep talking about forgiveness. Ask Jesus for forgiveness. I
never did nothing to him.” Is Felix being heretical, sacrilegious or truthful?

3. “Felix really gets low” [1:23:00—1:36:00]. In this segment, after being introduced by
(Rev.) Charlie, we hear Felix’s confession and request for forgiveness (Duval rehearsed it
once and then shot it--once). What do you notice about Rev. Jackson’s introduction of
Felix? What can we learn from his words? What has Felix learned about confession and
forgiveness by this time? What does he say about his not wanting forgiveness in the past
and the consequences of such a choice? From whom does he ask forgiveness? Does the
director and screenwriter want the viewer to think that forgiveness finally comes for
Felix? (think of Mattie’s response, his community’s response, the approach of a woman
dressed in white when everyone is gone, and the final shot of Buddy with his baby)?

Bonus Material

Robert Duvall’s father was a career officer in the Navy reaching the rank of rear admiral,
so he grew up in a military family which moved frequently (he was born in San Diego
and spent early years in Annapolis). But his extended family was rooted in Virginia,
where he now lives with his wife on a farm. He graduated from Principia College as a
drama/liberal arts major. The school’s current byline is “At Principia, everyone is trying
to understand God better. Whether you're confident Christian Science is the truth or have
more questions than answers, you'll find a campus full of people ready to share ideas and
support your spiritual growth.”

His parents pushed him into drama thinking that might be the only way he would
graduate. Academics wasn’t his forte, and yet his first experience of acting was as a
harlequin clown in a full length mime play set to Stravinsky music. After graduation he
served in the Army for two years, but when approached about officer training school, he
declined. He had been bitten by the acting bug and headed to New York where he
worked in live theater for many years (and his first roommates were Dustin Hoffman and
Gene Hackman).

Aaron Schneider was a cinematographer [Kiss the Girls (1997), Simon Birch (1998) and
Titanic (1997), until he wrote and directed an adaptation of a William Faulkner short
story. Two Soldiers won the Oscar for Best Short Film in 2004. Get Low was his
directorial debut of a feature length film.

Selected Additional Resources

A.O. Scott’s review of the film in the NY Times, July 29, 2010, “How Can You Enjoy
Your Own Funeral? For Starters, Don’t Die.” is worth reading to get a glimpse of a living
legend in acting, Robert Duvall (who made this film at age 79).

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/movies/30getlow.html

Mary Pols review “Get Low: Robert Duvall Raises the Bar” also sheds light on the actor
and the film and its center.

http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,2007471,00.html
There are various YouTube videos of Duvall speaking about the film, his vocation and
career, his approach to acting, and his love for all things Argentinian including his wife
and family, as well as Spanish and tango. Here are some of the best:

Talking to Peter Travers about Get Low, working with Bill Murray and Marlon Brando
and more
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POvmZ3-MUaQ

DP/30: The Oral History of Hollywood—shorter interview of Duvall about the film.
https://youtu.be/aHR-sbiZYj4

At the SXSW film festival in 2010, a free form conversation with director Aaron
Schneider, producer Dean Zanuck, Robert Duvall, Bill Murray and Sissy Spacek. One
interesting conversation revolves around the meaning of “get low”—getting down to
business; dying and being laid to rest in the ground; humbling yourself before God as in
confession.
https://youtu.be/GtWleEm-uR4

Allison Krause singing “Lay My Burden Down” the closing song in Get Low.
https://youtu.be/hayb9mZSZDQ?list=RDhayb9mZSZDQ

And to hear Duvall sing one of his favorite hymns, listen to Emmylou Harris and he sing
“I Love to Tell the Story.”
https://youtu.be/qO7Qrhss_j8

Catherine M. Barsotti
2103 words