Robert Duvall has created many of the movies most memorable characters. He was a cog in the futuristic wheel of George Lucas’ THX 1138. He was the stable center – in many ways the heart and soul – of the mafia family in The Godfather. He was tender and so in need of mercy as down-and-out country singer Mac Sledge in Tender Mercies.
And the hallmark of a great Duvall performance has always been quiet understatement. Even in a flashy role as Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore in Apocalypse Now, his most moving moment is his quietly uttering “Someday this war is going to end” before sighing and walking away.
The fine little indie movie Get Low is very much a vintage Duvall role in these respects. It is largely wordless and he only takes action when cornered. Entire scenes are carried by the wrinkles crisscrossing his cheeks and the nearly 80 years that shine forth from his craggy eyes. It’s also a beautiful bookend holding one end his life’s work in place.
Duvall made his first big splash on the silver screen in To Kill a Mockingbird as Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley, a quiet, misunderstood young man in a Depression-era Southern town. He doesn’t express himself. And, to fill in the blanks, the townsfolk spread rumors of his past, the types of stories that terrify young children on Halloween nights.
Duvall’s Felix Bush in Get Low is just as quiet and even more misunderstood. He’s been a hermit in Tennessee for 40 years, plenty of time for the rumors of the nearby townsfolk to fester into full fledged legends. Something happened in his distant past, something he’s kept locked away for a long time.
Bush needs to get this deep dark secret out into the open. He needs to have the townsfolk understand him. He doesn’t want to pass away and have his secrets die with him. To get the secret out, he decides to throw his own funeral party, while still alive. But he needs help and this ultimately leads him to Frank Quinn (the wonderful Bill Murray).
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