Movie Review: Get Low

Rich, soulful and unhurried, Get Low is the type of film we see too little of.
It's a monument to what can be achieved with a few reliable ingredients - sturdy direction, a slow yet engaging storyline and a handful of talented players to bring it home with aplomb.
The film's pillar is the redoubtable Robert Duvall, whose character - Tennessee mountain hermit Felix Bush - sort of resembles the great bearded figure that Duvall earlier cut in Gods and Generals, or more briefly in The Road.
We also see a couple of Duvall's celebrated diamond-in-the-rough cinematic creations shining through - see Duvall as Earl Pilcher jnr (A Family Thing) and as Hub (Secondhand Lions).
The film opens with Bush living the way he has been for 40 years - indifferent, lonely, and ready to unload a shotgun into any pesky kid who throws stones at his tumbledown shack.
Realising his days are numbered, the haggard curmudgeon steps out of the woods in search of someone to throw him a "funeral party".
The curious townsfolk are all invited and are further astonished when they learn Bush wants to be there with them - alive and kicking.
Enter Bill Murray's wily funeral director, Frank Quinn, who sees the answer to his failing business in Bush's scrunched ball of cash, and Buddy, Quinn's good-hearted young assistant.
As Quinn and Buddy set about their preparations, we meet Mattie Darrow (delightfully played by Sissy Spacek), a figure from Bush's mysterious former life, and the puzzle pieces start forming together.
Bush eventually comes to terms with a terrible secret - and reveals the reason for his rollicking send-off.
Ultimately, a story about the power of redemption, Get Low comes together remarkably, ably carried by heartfelt turns by all of its leads and crafted with a soulful splendour that's more folktale than film.
4/5
(M) 114 minutes