Movie: Nebraska
Director: Alexander Payne
Cast: Bruce Dern, Will Forte, June Squibb, Bob Odenkirk, Stacy Keach
Rating: ****
Alexander Payne has a fascination for road trips. He takes his characters on a journey of exploration and fixes relationships. This has happened more than once in films such as “Sideways”, “About Schmidt”, “Descendants” and now in Oscar-nominated “Nebraska”, which focuses on the relationship between an alcoholic father with dementia and his estranged son. A story about love, family and reunion, Payne’s film is sad yet endearing in many ways and achieves a distinction in leaving an emotional aftereffect on the audience.
Bruce Dern plays Woody Grant, an alcoholic father suffering from dementia, ever ready to wander off in solitude from Billings to Lincoln to collect his supposed million dollar earnings from a marketing contest. While people around Woody believe that the prize money is a scam, he, however, is convinced that he needs to be in Nebraska to collect it. After numerous attempts to stop Woody from wandering off by himself to Nebraska, his youngest son David (Will Forte) agrees to take him to claim the prize money. En route, they stop at a small town, where Woody grew up and settle scores from the past. When the news that Woody has won a million dollars circulates, people he grew up with, his family members, come asking for a share from the booty.
Nebraska could very well be termed as a coming-of-age story of David, who through the road trip learns more about his father he couldn’t all his life. In a standout scene, when Woody tells David that he’s hell bent on claiming the prize money because he wants leave something behind for his sons, we understand that love need not be always be expressed. It could sometimes mean by doing things that will make one understand how much he or she is loved by the other person. Payne paints a very troubled father-son relationship in the beginning but over the course of the film it gets shaped into a very strong and sensible one.
It’s not just a father-son relationship Payne explores through the film. He also focuses on the change in the behavioral pattern of Woody’s family members and the townsfolk’s reaction upon hearing about Woody’s million dollars win. Payne and writer Bob Nelson work wonderfully with Nebraska, especially Nelson, and other characters as well who are so realistic that they are easily relatable to the audiences.
It might be an emotional story for most part, but Nelson’s quirky writing paves way for some really funny moments and characters. One of these characters in particular is Woody’s wife Kate, played by June Squibb where almost everything that comes out of her mouth will evoke laughter. One of the funniest scenes unfolds when Woody, Kate, and David visit the gravesites of Woody’s family members and for every person buried six feet under, Kate has sarcastic remarks for them. Bruce and Will go all the way with their impressive performances and it’s a shame neither one of them pocketed an Oscar award for the same.
Nebraska will make you cry, laugh and even reinvent your relationship with your father and family. It is extremely high on drama and milks dry all the family sentiments and dynamics that you usually find in Payne’s films. The poetic black-and-white imagery used serves as an apt backdrop to capture the mood of the film, which touches your heart with intentional humor and subtle acting. Mark Orton’s country score elevates the film to a level where you can’t ignore how incredibly fitting the music sounds in the narrative.
