An evil mountain man turns out to be a lovable eccentric: Welcome to Hollywood!

When a gruff mountain hermit threatens intruders by blasting at them with his shotgun, chases terrorized children off his land, posts a "no damn trespassers" sign, speaks in monosyllables, and beats a bystander over the head with a wooden pole, and then turns out to be a soft-hearted eccentric well versed in Indian lore and natural homeopathy who keeps an image of his long-lost beloved taped above his headboard, speaks in wise parables, and is so generally good-natured and benevolent that he built an entire church by hand for a nearby black congregation just as a favor to the folksy preacher, we can be in only one place: Welcome to Hollywood. "Get Low," a Robert Duvall-Bill Murray-Sissy Spacek vehicle is set in the 20s/30s in what looks to be the Ozarks, and is just as believable as any Ozark yarn - but less compelling. To the extent that there are any surprises in the movie, you will figure them out in minutes - way, way ahead of any of the characters. The very basic plot outline is that eccentric hermit Duvall comes to Murray's funeral parlor and asks for a "living funeral" at which people will come to tell stories about him (presumably, about his evil ways). Oddly, this never happens - but at the big funeral that wraps the movie Duvall confesses to the great sin (he loved a marrried woman! she died in a fire and he couldn't save her!) that has driven him to 40 years of hermetic existence. This movie - aided and abetted by its soundtrack - is about as heavy-handed as they come, but there are a few strengths: the acting of the principals is very strong, especially Murray, who has become a better and nuanced actor with nearly every serious role. I wish the movie had been about him, an itinerant confidence man trying to make a buck. Or I wish it had been written by Stephen King, who would've made the Duvall character much more frightening, complex, and credible.