Get Low (2009)

A movie spun out of equal parts folk tale, fable and real-life legend about the mysterious, 1930s Tennessee hermit who famously threw his own rollicking funeral party... while he was still alive.

Director:

Aaron Schneider

Writers:

Chris Provenzano (screenplay), C. Gaby Mitchell (screenplay),

Stars:

Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Bill Murray

2 wins & 18 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Duvall	...	Felix Bush
Sissy Spacek	...	Mattie Darrow
Bill Murray	...	Frank Quinn
Lucas Black	...	Buddy
Gerald McRaney	...	Rev. Gus Horton
Bill Cobbs	...	Rev. Charlie Jackson
Scott Cooper	...	Carl
Lori Beth Edgeman	...	Kathryn
Linds Edwards	...	WKNG Announcer
Andrea Powell	...	Bonnie
Chandler Riggs	...	Tom
Danny Vinson	...	Grier
Blerim Destani	...	Gary
Tomasz Karolak	...	Orville
Andy Stahl	...	Photographer (as Andrew Stahl)

Storyline

Felix Bush (Robert Duvall) is a hermit who has no regard for anybody in the town or anyone who wants to get to know him. But one day, after a fellow old hermit has died and he hears people in the town telling stories about him, he decides that he needs to get these stories out in the public. He recruits Frank (Bill Murray), the local funeral home director, to host his own funeral. This way he can hear what everyone is saying about him, and get the truth to his past out in the open. But will he be able to get anybody to come? And will he be able to reveal his secrets?

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Plot Keywords:

funeral | hermit | secret | funeral home | party | 

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Taglines:

Every secret dies somewhere.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some thematic material and brief violent content

Details

Official Sites:

Facebook Sony Pictures Classics [United States]

Country:

USA Germany Poland

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 October 2010 (Poland)

Also Known As:

A temetésem szervezem

Filming Locations:

Atkinson-Glover House - 19 Temple Avenue, Newnan, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$88,182 (USA) (30 July 2010)

Gross:

$9,176,553 (USA) (18 February 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

K5 International, Zanuck Independent, David Gundlach Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min 100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shipped to theaters under the code name "Burly Beard".

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Goofs

Felix is shown splitting wood by striking a wedge with the butt of a single-blade axe. The wedge is displayed when he raises the axe, butt forward, to split the last piece but when he comes down with the axe he strikes with the blade and the wedge has disappeared.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Rev. Gus Horton: Good morning, sir.
Felix Bush: It's a hard life if you can't read.
Rev. Gus Horton: Pardon?
Felix Bush: [gestures toward NO DAMN TRESPASSING sign]

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Connections

Referenced in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World/Eat Pray Love/The Expendables (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Farewell Blues"
(1922)
Written by Paul Mares, Leon Rappolo & Elmer Schoebel
Performed by Paul Whiteman and Orchestra (as Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra)
Courtesy of Bluebird/Novus/RCA Victor and the RCA/Jive Label Group
A Unit of Sony Music Entertainment
By arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

Great Actors Perform tell a Seious Humorous Story

Get Low and its cast were very well-received last night at Austin's Paramount Theatre as part of the SXSW Film Festival. This is the type of well-written, well-acted serious film that gets made all too rarely today. The excellent cast was led by three aging legends – the cantankerous Robert Duvall, the hilarious Bill Murray and elegant Sissy Spacek – all of whom attended the SXSW performance and answered questions. They have lost nothing with age. One-time child star Lucas Black has begun to come into his own as an actor as well. Get Low is an example of the type of wonderful film making that can be done with excellent actors working on a minimal budget. The period setting in depression era Tennessee was entirely believable. The film is both very funny and deeply moving.

Very loosely-based on real events, the film tells the story of a backwoods hermit – played by Duvall with grace and spirit – who decides to hold his own funeral while he is still alive. The story is about loneliness, guilt, redemption, forgiveness, love, and human mortality. There have been few recent films that explore such difficult territory and do so with such humanity, decency and humor. I hope that this film gets a theatrical release so that more people can enjoy this rare treat.