Friday, September 3, 2010
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Friday, September 3, 2010
FILM
The Continuing Ascendancy Of
Robert Duvall
Robert Duvall keeps a remarkable 50-year career in
film flying high, starring in the new film drama "Get Low".
Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
by
Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
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Friday,
September 3, 2010
SAN FRANCISCO
ROBERT DUVALL loves boxing. It's clearly on his mind as we spoke
in April about his film "Get Low", directed by first-time feature filmmaker
Aaron Schneider. The Sony Pictures Classics release opened last week in
San Francisco and was released in New York and Los Angeles on July 30.
"Get Low", which boasts a cast of Sissy Spacek and Bill Murray among others, is
making its way around the U.S.
"I think Mayweather's backing off from him, I think."
Mr. Duvall is referring to one Floyd Mayweather Jr., a boxer acclaimed as the
world's best pound-for-pound fighter. At the time the actor sat down for
this conversation almost four months ago, the bout between Mr. Mayweather and
reigning champion Manny Pacquiao had already been called off amidst the latter
fighter's then-refusal to submit to a blood test.
As Mr. Duvall sits comfortably in a firm sofa chair against the stark white wall
of a local hotel suite he marvels at Mr. Pacquiao, the legendary champion fighter from
the Philippines.
"But this Pacquiao -- he's terrific. I watched him train. He's a
character. The guy comes into the ring like he's gonna have a Coke."
Mr. Duvall, who turns 80 early next January, asks his questioner where he's
from. After the response is given, he offers this observation: "There's
some tough guys in England. Joe Louis fought Tommie Farr. Fifteen
round decision -- close. They never fought again. Tommie Farr was
great."
Robert Duvall isn't a pugilist, but for nearly 50 years he's punched home one distinctive,
seamless performance after another. He's made a career of playing both the
reasoned middle man and the troubled soul. Whether as consigliere Tom
Hagen in "The Godfather", or the Napalm-loving lieutenant colonel in "Apocalypse
Now", or the avuncular figure looking to calm the excitable leads of films like
"Falling Down" (Michael Douglas) and "John Q" (Denzel Washington), Mr. Duvall
has been a steady, reassuring constant in his prolific film career, while other
senior film legends are slowly withering away, retired or become parodies of
themselves.
Mr. Duvall's lone Oscar win was in the early 1980s playing Mac Sledge in "Tender
Mercies". One could make a strong case for a second Oscar for Mr. Duvall
for his role as a sinning reverend in "The Apostle", which he directed in 1997.
His first feature film role was in the
landmark Robert Mulligan film "To Kill A Mockingbird", based on Harper Lee's
novel. Mr. Duvall played Boo Radley, an anti-social, bigoted citizen who
specializes in making mean faces and giving curmudgeons everywhere a worse
name than they might deserve.
Robert Duvall in San Francisco in April.
He turns 80 on January 5.
Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
In "Get Low",
Felix Bush is a character based on a real life person, yet when you ask
Robert Duvall if Felix, whom he portrays in Mr. Schneider's film, resembles Boo Radley, or
if Felix is an example of Radley coming full circle, you will hear this:
"Everybody asks that. Everybody!"
"Felix Bush could have been a lawyer. A school teacher. He could
have been many things. He was a bright -- whereas, the guy in -- Boo
Radley was a little off, you know what I'm saying? But still, ["Get Low"]
is like a Horton Foote movie, who made the adaptation (of "Mockingbird"), the
great Texas playwright."
Mr. Foote passed away during the filming of "Get Low" in 2009. Mr. Duvall
said that he had wanted Mr. Foote, who also wrote "Tender Mercies" and won an
Oscar for it, to see the finished product. The actor recalled filming a
pivotal scene in "Get Low" when he and his wife received the sad news via
telephone.
Mr. Schneider's film, shot in Georgia, is tailor-made to its star, with shots
that lend an even greater presence to Mr. Duvall. "Get Low", a timeless
adult drama, often feels like a tribute to the lead star, who was born in San
Diego. (Mr. Duvall and his wife live on their multi-acre farm in
Virginia.)
"Get Low", a relatively sanguine affair given its subject matter, deals with the
inevitable that everyone has to confront: death. The film is also about
reputations and stories about people you think you know. One line, which
still applies, stands out in the film, set in the 1920s and 1930s: "gossip is
the devil's radio."
Robert Duvall as Felix and Sissy Spacek as Mattie in Aaron
Schneider's "Get Low".
Sony Pictures Classics
Of "Get Low", Mr. Duvall says: "It's so original -- there won't be a remake for
15 years!" (He agreed with the view that the film wouldn't ever be in 3D.)
As for Mr. Duvall's methodology with "Get Low", the approach was typical of most
if not all actors when working on the big screen. "I just let the writing
lead me", said the actor, who opined that any insecurities that he may have had
about acting are at this late stage of his career virtually non-existent.
During the conversation Mr. Duvall stated that "Get Low" was the type of film
Hollywood studios took a chance on in the 1970s.
Alas, no longer.
As Mr. Duvall is treated to a lengthy recital of some of the great hits of his
career, he makes clear that he's far from being put out to pasture on the big
screen.
"Well I've got a few more left in me before they wipe the drool up or anything.
Keep going some more!"
"Get Low" is playing in numerous U.S. cities and continues to expand to
select markets around the country.
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