First-time feature director Aaron Schneider blazes onto the scene with the hugely impressive Get Low. Set in the 1930s in a rural Southern town, the film follows scruffy hermit Felix Bush (played impeccably by Robert Duvall), who has lived alone on the outskirts of town for 40 years shrouded in a dark mystery. One day he emerges from isolation to plan his own living "funeral party," expecting the townsfolk who have rejected him for years to attend. Denied a proper funeral for his checkered past, Felix perseveres to set the record straight. With the help of Frank Quinn (Bill Murray), the town's broke funeral director, his quirky assistant Buddy Robinson (Lucas Black), and an old friend and widow Maddie Darrow (Sissy Spacek), he tries to retrace history and expunge his record.

Schneider skillfully balances humor, understated drama, and gripping mystery in a solid story of redemption and forgiveness. Duvall is outstanding as the simmering and callous Felix in this can't-miss, restrained, and rewarding film based on a real-life legend.

Aaron Schneider and Aaron Schneider