Get Low

I'm in the middle of bunkering up on a project and as a result I decided to go see a film and try to not think about valuation allowances for a few hours. Of course I chose one about a 1920's hermit (Robert Duvall) who decides he wants to have a living funeral so he can finally reveal the dark secret he's held for the past 40 years. Needless to say the film didn't feature enough shiny objects to complete enrapture me so its entirely possible that my entire reaction to was driven by my inability to focus.

All that said, the film didn't do much for me. Don't get me wrong the performances are generally solid (it would be surprising if they weren't given that the cast featured Duvall, Sissy Spacek, and Major Dad himself gerald McCraney) and I kind of liked its understated approach, but ultimately I couldn't help that feel the film felt it was much more profound than it actually was. The big denoucement actually didn't feel that shocking, and I never got that involved in Duvall's predicament (such that it was). Also the film features Bill Murray as the funeral director organizing the party and the casting ends up feeling generally distracting. Not because he does a bad job, he probably does as much as is possible with an underwritten part, but given his stature (and billing) you keep expecting much more to happen with a character that is essentially the fourth lead. I think the story would have been better served casting someone with less juice that I wouldn't have been distracted by waiting for something more to happen with the character.

Anyway, it could be that Get Low is truly a classic and my project induced ADD kept me from realizing it. I guess the lesson is when distracted go see something that doesn't require a lot of concentration like say...your mom.