"People say I once had a horse's head put into a man's bed while he slept."
At this stage in his career, it shouldn't be surprising for an actor like Robert Duvall to command a movie as he does in Get Low. From his film debut as the mute, Arthur "Boo" Radley in the film adaptation of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Duvall has made a career of playing a leading man in character actor's clothes or in scene-stealing supporting roles. Largely, Duvall has avoided the pitfalls of his Godfather brethren by not slumming it in projects unworthy of his prodigious talent (DeNiro), or becoming a caricature (Pacino), or worse still, a punchline (Brando). At first blush, Duvall's portrayal of the laconic Felix Bush seems like a simple exercise in curmudgeonly restraint, but as the film progresses the gravitas that Duvall gives every scene is palpable. While the mystery surrounding the cause for Bush's hermit-like existence begins to wear a bit thin before the movies' final act, Duvall's performance keeps the movie afloat, and a film that could've wallowed in morbid excess finds a certain lighthearted rhythm. Bill Murray's funeral parlor owner looking to cash in on the rural legend that is Felix Bush doesn't hurt.
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