When Woody believes that he has won a million dollars nothing is going to stop him from claiming the prize. Ridiculed by his wife, one of his sons David takes him on a road trip to Lincoln, Nebraska.
This was one of those films that I really wanted to see before the 2014 Oscars as knew it was going to get some nominations. unfortunately due to it not being on long at the cinema and a friend not wanting to see it. That night I ended up going to see Oldboy instead, quite possibly one of the worst films of all time. Anyway I am pleased to say that this film is not one of the worst of all time, it is surprisingly heartwarming and good.
Bruce Dern is fantastic in the role of Woody and plays the grumpy old man very well. On the trip with David we are given information about the way Woody has lived his life. It doesn’t paint a fantastic picture of him, considering he used to drink too much and did not seem to have the best relationship with his sons. David had taken him on the trip mainly to try to prove that he had not really won that money and to stop him randomly walking away from home.
I guess it is also quite a strange film as not a massive amount actually happens in the 110 minute running time. But it drags you in and has you engaged from start to finish. I was a little bit worried that I would find it boring but Dern and especially June Squibb really do carry you though with some fantastic lines. Squibb saying what you would not expect at all from an old woman and a hilarious yet wrong scene at a grave had be laughing out loud.
At the same time though it does have its very heartwarming moments, something which you don’t actually expected with the way Woody is thought of. Especially when they get back to where he used to live and not many people had a very good opinion of him. But then again they were all trying to just get a share of the money he “had won”. I love the idea behind the story as I am sure a lot of old people fall for the letters saying they have won money and actually ring the premium rate numbers costing them a small fortune.
It also puts in plenty of awkward family moments and why some people are not actually bothered about communicating with relatives. It really does have a couple of scenes where you cannot help but to feel sorry for David in particular. He’s doing his best and what he feels right but does not actually get any credit or praise for it. His brother Ross gets more praise for his life and that he is doing very well.
While I did enjoy this film I would be scared to recommend it for someone to watch as it is not everyone’s type of film really. It will probably be too boring for a lot of people I know in all honesty. But it’s something that little bit different to what you usually see on film. Hopefully it hasn’t painted a really bad picture for Nebraska?
