Mystery, comedy, drama, and parable all get thrown into the pot that Robert Duvall is cooking in Get Low, the tale of recluse Felix Bush and his return to society in this early-Twentieth Century period piece. Sporting a Gods and Generals beard and a theological bent akin to The Apostle, Duvall leads a spirited Bill Murray, Lucas Black, and Sissy Spacek in a story that plays out like a play... outdoors.

It's abundantly clear that there is more going on with Duvall's Felix Bush than meets the eye. In a small town, and stories and legends about the man abound, but when he emerges from his self-imposed isolation and declares that he wants to host his own funeral while he's still alive, well, that attracts some serious attention. Murray co-stars as the funeral director intent on making money off of the spectacle, while Black is Murray's protege at the parlor, and the sympathetic "eyes" of the audience on the story.

Get Low is part mystery, part drama. Either way, though, it's a story about confession, about sacrifice, and about redemption. Bush's secrets are heavy on his aging heart, and he's got to get them off of his chest, but they may not be the secrets that the town expects. While set long enough ago not to be "modern," the story still speaks like a parable. How do we get boxed in and isolated by other people's expectations and rumors? How do we determine what we need to do to take responsibility for our own lives, to "make good" with the people we've hurt? In the end, what does reconciliation really look like, and how can we come to terms with our mistakes?

Religion does play a part in the story that unfolds, and Bill Cobbs' Charlie Jackson stands in as the "voice of God." But there's forgiveness in God's eyes, which while undeserved we may come to accept, and the forgiveness of others who we may or may not really "need" to be forgiven by but who still judge us. Bush has been tried and convicted in the court of public opinion, and this funeral serves as an opportunity to clear the air, to "make amends" in some sense, and to stand in and take the hits. There's a bravery here, and one that we should consider for ourselves: what would we need to do or say to make our world right?