Get Low
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: July 30, 2010 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
77
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews
Positive:
32
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
ObserverRex Reed
Resonating with warmth and sardonic wit and containing a majestic performance by Robert Duvall. Read full review
100
Orlando SentinelRoger Moore
Duvall, an American Lear not going gently into that good night, reminds us that it will be a sad day indeed for movie fans when it's about time for him to Get Low. Read full review
100
Wall Street JournalJohn Anderson
Felix (Duvall) simply wants to host his own goodbye, maybe have a band, and the reasons why are the reasons Get Low is essential viewing. That, and the acting. Read full review
90
Boxoffice MagazinePam Grady
Will appeal strongly to a mature audience drawn to robust characters, dry wit, and great performances. Read full review
90
Arizona RepublicBill Goodykoontz
Like its stars, the film's not particularly flashy, it's just good, and it's hard to find fault in that. Read full review
88
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
It's as soothing and pure as the sweetest water from the deepest well. Read full review
88
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike Scott
A movie with a message, but the subtle kind; it's whispered wisdom, wrapped up in a story of mystery, of love, of regret, of repentance and redemption. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
This film, calm but full of feeling, relays an intriguing story brought to life by some beautiful actors. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Funny, touching and acutely observed film. Read full review
88
New York PostLou Lumenick
Duvall and Spacek are so in tune with each other's rhythms -- despite their 20-year age difference -- that it's hard to believe they've never acted together before. Read full review
83
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
Not only Duvall shines. Murray, in case anybody still doubted it, is one of the finest character actors in America. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
A winning, grown-up film that benefits from fine, homey performances, a steady directorial hand, and the sense that everyone involved was invested in the story and not just the job. Read full review
80
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
Though the story sometimes wanders into hazy, corny sentiment, its protagonist (called Felix Bush, which was apparently a nickname or alias of Breazeale's) is vivid, enigmatic and unpredictable. Read full review
80
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
Get Low is deftly played, and it rarely mislays its ambling charm, but what a forbidding fable it could have been if the truth about Felix Bush, rather than emerging into sunlight, had slunk back into the woods. Read full review
80
VarietyJoe Leydon
With a mix of sly humor, homespun grace and affecting poignancy, Get Low casts a well-nigh irresistible spell. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesSheri Linden
In lesser hands this Southern saga might have collapsed into whimsical corn, but cinematographer-turned-director Aaron Schneider has fashioned a measured fable, witty and deeply felt, if at times tipping into melodrama. Read full review
80
NPRElla Taylor
Handsomely and vividly mounted, in a palette of period chocolates and golds, Get Low opens with an image of a burning man running from a house on fire -- an enticing promise of Southern Gothic that the movie never quite fulfills. Read full review
80
MovielineStephanie Zacharek
The pleasures Get Low offers lie in the process of simply getting there, in watching performers take material that has some limitations (the script, inspired by a true story, is by Chris Provenzano and C. Gaby Mitchell) and turn it into something that has the rough-hewn, no-nonsense veracity of folk music. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
You need only see Get Low for absolute proof that, while Hollywood may be in decline even as bad actors' salaries climb ever higher, there remain at least three very exemplary reasons – Duvall, Spacek, and Murray – to switch off your home theatre and get out into a real one. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
The period details - the cars, the clothes, the old storefronts along Main Street - are attentively described. But it's Duvall, spooky, sly, and sad, who makes all the props and the plot twists seem real. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
All of this is just plain enjoyable. I liked it, but please don't make me say it's deeply moving or redemptive and uplifting. It's a genre piece for character actors is what it is, and that's an honorable thing for it to be. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Stephen Cole
It's Duvall and Murray who make Get Low a small, wonderful thing. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Its main pleasure lies in watching Bush thaw under gentle emotional heat applied by the few people who haven't given up on him. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
Get Low is meant to be funny, heartwarming, and wise, and it is, for the most part--but in an overly familiar way. Read full review
75
Tampa Bay TimesSteve Persall
Get Low is a pleasant yarn, well-acted and dutifully mounted with period designs. There isn't a false note among the actors. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
The results are entertaining -- up to a point. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
This handsome period drama is the sort of quiet, homespun story that Duvall, who served as executive producer, has always loved. Read full review
70
TimeMary Pols
Without Duvall's rich, supremely skilled performance, this slim period piece wouldn't amount to much. Read full review
70
Village VoiceChuck Wilson
Despite that maddening third-act stumble, Get Low is a pleasure to watch. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Duvall's acting turns magical: scary, touching, and full of grace. But Get Low, as directed by Aaron Schneider, forces you to sit through a lot of poky setup to reach that touching epiphany. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy Burr
A charming, spiky period piece that might be called "Boo Radley: The Final Years." Read full review
63
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Tender and sentimental, a little schmaltzy, and ultimately too slight. Read full review
50
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe Williams
Duvall is a powerful actor, and this folksy fable could have been a career-capping feat, but the movie is toothless and slow. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
The movie's pleasures are acting pleasures, but the movie doesn't compel attention and never seems like more than the frame for a performance. Read full review
40
Time OutKeith Uhlich
This is the kind of autumnal sentimentality that the Academy goes wild for-a (rightly) venerated performer acknowledging his own mortality by pandering to cheap-seat emotions. Read full review
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