Faith in Film 4, Week 3

Here's a look at the worksheet for "Get Low." We will be screening the film tonight and will be talking about the film's themes next Monday!


Title: “Get Low” (2009)

Starring: Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Lucas Black, and Sissie Spacek

Synopsis: This is another interesting film that continues the arc of forgiveness, guilt, and the quest for redemption over the first half of this session. The film was released in 2009 to little fanfare, but it was one of the hidden independent gems of that year. Though snubbed by the Academy Awards and Golden Globes, “Get Low” did win an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature for director Aaron Schneider. Bill Murray earned a nomination from the Spirit Awards for Best Supporting Actor, turning in one of his better performances of the past few years, and Duvall could easily have snagged an acting nomination as well.

The film centers on a bitter older man, Felix Bush (Duvall), who wants to throw himself a funeral before he’s dead. He finds and opportunistic mortician (Murray) to help pull it off, and he plans a grand affair. After spending years as a hermit, the people are understandably interested to hear what Bush has to say. What they get is surprising in a number of ways. Bush lived all those years in isolation as an atonement for his role in a tragic event years earlier. His public funeral is meant to serve as a public confession of all those shameful things he’s hidden in the past. What Bush desires, more than anything, is to atone before his life comes to an end.

Questions to Consider:
1. Why do we as humans have such a need to feel forgiven?


2. Given our inherent need to feel forgiven, why do we have such a hard time feeling forgiven by others and God?


3. What do you identify most with in Felix? Though his plan is elaborate, do you identify with the need that’s driving him?