Nebraska (FILM REVIEW)
Nebraska
Film Review
by Kam Williams
Father and Son Bond during Nostalgic Road
Trip across America’s
Aging Heartland
77 year-old Woody Grant (Bruce Dern)
is an addlepated alcoholic whose brain is so bent out of shape that he’s
convinced he’s struck it rich after getting one of those mass-produced letters in
the mail announcing that you’ve just won a million dollars in a magazine
sweepstakes. Nevertheless, he soon sets out on foot by himself from Billings, Montana to
collect his grand prize in Omaha,
Nebraska.
Once it’s clear that the
cantankerous curmudgeon can’t be talked out of that foolhardy endeavor, son
David (Will Forte) opts to drive his dad there. This doesn’t sit well with Woody’s
acid-tongued wife, Kate (June Squibb), who’s too well-grounded in reality to
indulge the old coot’s nonsense.
However, as futile as the quest
might sound, the pair’s ensuing sojourn across four states does prove rather
fruitful. After all, not only does it afford father and son a chance to spend some
quality time together, but they also get to catch up with lots of long-lost
friends and relatives they visit along the way.
Eventually, Kate and elder son, Ross
(Bob Odenkirk), join them en route, grudgingly making the long jaunt a family
affair. It’s understandably hard for them to be enthusiastic about an outing inspired
by a fraudulent marketing scheme.
Still, sometimes, getting there is
all the fun, as is the case with Nebraska,
a nostalgic road trip unfolding against the barren backdrop of the heartland’s crumbling
infrastructure. The film was directed by two-time Oscar-winner Alexander Payne
(for writing Sideways and The Descendants) whose decision to shoot the picture
in black-and-white was nothing short of a stroke of genius.
For the lack of color only serves to
further emphasize the absence of hope in a rural region left devastated by the
failure of its factory, farm and small town life. It’s no wonder, then, that
some of the pour souls the Grants encounter might seize on Woody’s pipe dream
as a way of alleviating their own misery.
Featuring a career performance by
Bruce Dern destined to be remembered during awards season, Nebraska
is a lighthearted character study which, ironically, offers a stone, cold sober
look at the downsizing of the Midwest’s American
Dream.
Excellent
(4 stars)
Rated R
for profanity
Running time: 115 minutes
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
To see a trailer for Nebraska, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvW_DmfKfSk
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