Review: "Low and Behold" (Sundance)

I’d seen New Orleans after Katrina. I’d watched it on CNN and Fox News. I’d seen the benefit concerts. I’d rented When the Levees Broke from Netflix.
But I hadn’t truly seen New Orleans.

I didn’t realize this until I saw Low and Behold at the Sundance Film Festival.

I guess you can’t truly appreciate the magnitude of the destruction unless you actually set foot in New Orleans, but Low and Behold helped me to imagine what it’s like.

Filmed just months after Hurricane Katrina in the heart of some of the hardest-hit areas, the film tells the story of Turner Stull (Barlow Jacobs), a young uninspired man who travels to New Orleans to work as an insurance adjuster. He has no idea what he’s in for.

Working as claim adjuster, he has to travel from house to house around the city, inspecting the damaged houses, all in an attempt to get the owners a check from the insurance company. But make no mistake, Turner is not doing this out of the goodness of his heart. He’s there to make money, as he’s reminded by his loud, boorish Uncle Stully (Robert Longstreet).

Early in the movie, a leader of their company, and one of Uncle Stully’s idols, makes a speech, praising the Lord for bringing maximum damage (with minimum casualties, of course), because they all stand to make LOTS of money.

After some time training with Uncle Stully, Turner is soon out on his own, visiting strangers’ houses and listening to their stories. He’s truly a stranger in a strange land, and soon he’s lost amidst the devastated streets of New Orleans, where he meets Nixon (Eddie Rouse).

Nixon, who appears to be homeless, asks Turner for some help in finding his lost dog. Turner wants nothing to do with it, and literally leaves Nixon in the dust. But later, the tables are turned when Turner loses his ladder while up on a roof. Who should walk by, but Nixon?

Soon, the two form an odd sort of friendship. Turner agrees to help Nixon find his dog, while Nixon helps Turner navigate the streets of New Orleans and assists him on his jobs. As the two men get to know each other, Turner is shown the true nature of loss and the human stories of Katrina.

What makes Low and Behold such a moving story is that it puts you right in the heart of New Orleans. Not just physically, but in spirit. We learn the stories of the people, straight from their mouth, in a way that hasn’t been captured by a news camera. Even Spike Lee’s excellent documentary, When the Levees Broke, did not have as much resonance with me as this movie did.
Part of what makes the story so real, is that it is real, at least in part. As Turner goes around the town, we meet his clients. Director Zack Godshall intertwines actual interviews of real people affected by the storm. Through them, we feel the true story of New Orleans.

But it’s also revealed in the scripted parts of Low and Behold. Nixon’s story puts a level of humanity on the situation I’d never seen before. For the first time, I could really feel the loss that these people went through.

Much of this is due to the performance of Eddie Rouse as Nixon. Easily the most powerful acting I saw during all of Sundance, Rouse brings such humanity to the character that you can’t help but feel true emotion when Nixon finally reveals his story.

Don’t think this movie is all about tragedy, however. Co-writers Barlow and Godshall have written a script with some very funny moments.

I think that’s what makes Low and Behold so satisfying. It shows all sides of humanity. There’s not one emotion, but many.