You are pretty much guaranteed quality in a Robert Duvall performance, any Robert Duvall performance, whether it is small cameo support (From The Conversation to The Road) or the lead in an intimate drama or even a Civil War epic. He is, simply put, one of the great actors of all time - one who can do both larger-than-life screen demolishing performances and quiet, subtle acting with his eyes alone. Yet about once every decade he really brings something special to the table; a particularly memorable character, a very intense performance. In the 1960s, his feature film debut, he plays the haunted and pale Boo Radley in To Kill A Mocking Bird; in the 1970s he immortalized his love for the smell of napalm in the morning as a general who like to surf and plays Wagner when going into battle; in the 1980s he plays a quiet, down-on-his-luck country singer who does odd jobs for room and board while trying to put his life back together; and in the 1990s his turn as the bombastic Apostle E.F. might just be the best single performance of that decade. Get Low is with little doubt his performance of this decade, something that embodies all of those characters mentioned above, yet is its own multi-layered beast. The film itself maybe be accessible and easily digestible stuff, I am not sure that the world actually needs a warm and fuzzy inversion of Billy Wilder's Ace in The Hole, but the Duvall performance is the thing. And it certainly does not hurt that his supporting thespians are Sissy Spacek and Bill Murray.

Felix Bush is more of a legend than a man. He has been living in isolation for almost 40 years, is practically a dare for the towns children to sneak up to his cabin often to be scared off by a wild-haired and aged man with a shotgun. His property is marked by a sign "Beware of Mule." Is that Bush's actual mule (his only form of transport, not that he needs it), or a simply a self-description? Either way, the townspeople have a collection of rumours and suspicions of Bush's past and character, after all it is in rural America in the 1930s - what else is there to do? But when Bush leaves the hermitage in the bush and comes to town to plan his own funeral (the titular "Get Low"), the shit hits the proverbial fan. Turned down by the pastor, and assaulted in the street he is propositioned by the local ailing funeral home to do a 'living' funeral. Bill Murray, in a welcome role that showcases his energetic, droll and sardonic persona from the 1980s is part businessman, part fixer, part game-show host. It was only a matter of time before he managed to essay an undertaker on film. Of course it is his idea for the funeral where the guest of honour is still alive. Whatever pays the bills. But Bush is no patsy or easily played, he is driving his own game, and ups the ante with a 'lottery' for his land for everyone who comes to the funeral and donates a dollar. Naturally this attracts everyone in town and the neighbouring counties, especially when Bush and his undertaker do the announcement on the radio station. While Murray is hilarious, and Duvall often has a bit of a twinkle in his eye in the early going, the story is not just there for a lark.  Bush has some kind of past with only one person in the town, the handsome piano teacher (Spacek at her most luminous) who seems keen to re-connect.

What follows is a set of reveals, the light tone of the film helps camouflage whatever guilty conscience that Bush has been harbouring for more than three decades, something that make the black preacher two counties over stare into his coffee cup and shake his head, and maybe go a little pale. Bush seems on the verge of confessing or pulling something, but keeps his cards and his emotions close to the vest. A man of few words, but there is a keen intelligence behind those eyes, which do most of the acting in the film. There is also a bit of tricksterism and a bit of melancholy. Ending up in one of those big American speeches (echoing To Kill A Mockingbird) in front of the assembled community, it may be showy, even a bit contrived (despite being credited as based on a true story), but it still managed to bring a little moisture to this cynical reviewers eye. To the right audience, and with the right push Get Low could be a surprise adult sleeper film of the year. It certainly has awards nominations for Duvall all over it, and as a bonus, the audience gets a film that is a bit of a throwback to a bygone age of movies. The age when American was mythologized without irony or cynicism. Not bad for a first time filmmaker, Aaron Schneider, who has the chops to get three of America's best actors in his debut film and wring the maximum amount of juice out of all of 'em.