Get Low [Blu-Ray]

In the midst of discussing the impending "living funeral" of notorious hermit Felix Bush (Robert Duvall), funeral home owner Frank Quinn (Bill Murray) tells Mattie Darrow (Sissy Spacek), a respected woman with seeming past romantic entanglements with the backwoods shut in, "I spent my entire life sleeping on the same side of the bed. And then when my wife left me, I started sleeping on the other side and never looked back." What's imminently intriguing about the subtle and quietly insightful Get Low is that it never feels compelled to expand upon this comment, and many others, leaving it to mean any number of things about Quinn's moral outlook, status as an honest man or even something veiled about his sexuality. Since it's rooted in Tennessee folklore, expanding on, and taking liberties with, a reported story of a man living in the woods who hosted his own funeral, there are constant gems of metaphorical richness and realist philosophy littered throughout a film that's ostensibly a comedy about death. Beyond understanding the superficial reasons for why a man would shut himself off from the world for 40 years, Aaron Schneider's directorial debut invests itself in notions of identity, both internal and external, redemption, regret and acceptance while delivering a mostly light-hearted and idiosyncratic artifice for those uncomfortable with such concepts. What's more is that Robert Duvall has delivered one of the most layered and touching performances of his career, which is only ameliorated by the juxtaposition of his surly cynic character with Murray's flippant, opportunistic Quinn. Their playful bickering and ability to pull contrary energy from each other is pure entertainment. In fact, the magnetic performances and generalized quirkiness make it easy to overlook the inherent cleverness and wisdom relegated to secondary, throwaway scenes. You can tell that everyone involved in the production was deeply invested, which is confirmed in the multiple mini-supplements included on the DVD about the script, the actors and the production. The commentary track with Duvall, Spacek and Schneider also expands upon this, as they talk with passion about the project and what it means to each of them.