NEBRASKA

NEBRASKA Review

By Darin Skaggs

     If I say the word family, what do you feel?  Happiness. Dread. Love. Sadness. Nothing.  One of these probably applies to you and in the new Alexander Payne film, all of the above apply.  That film is Nebraska, shot in black and white, is about the horrors and honors of family.  

     Payne’s new film begins with the view of a man walking on the edge of a highway.  He has a slow step.  He most likely has a goal in mind.  It turns out this man is Woody Grant, with the wonderful performance by Bruce Dern.  He is elderly and on his way to Lincoln, Nebraska to collect his one million dollar prize from an ad he got in the mail.  A police man picks him up and takes him to the station.  His son, David Grant who is played by comedian Will Forte is called to come get him.  David explains to Woody that the ad is a scam to get him to buy more magazines.  Woody will not hear it and tries a couple more times throughout the first act of the film to walk to Nebraska, mostly on a count he cannot drive.  He then convinces David to drive him there on a journey to pick up his winnings.

     On the trip the two stop at a hotel and Woody falls and hits his head.  He is in the hospital for a few days and David makes them stop in Hawthorne, the town where Woody grew up.  Woody is a quiet man and sometimes does not answer questions or share his feelings because he simply cannot hear.  Other times he does not want to be a part of the conversation.  He is vocal though about not wanting to go to Hawthorne.  In his time there, we met several of his family including one of his many brothers.  That becomes somewhat of a family reunion where all the brothers come over.  It leads to one of the truest moments of the film where all the brothers are sitting around the television watching sports, no one saying a word.  They all care about each other but no one has to say anything.  They don’t want to.  Some words are exchanged about cars but that is it.  Other people who come over are Woody’s wife, Kate played by the great June Squibb.  She is a brutal honestly woman and is sometimes over played.  Most of the family finds her annoying but also everyone cares for her and at a few points it is apparent that she cares about all of them.  Also Woody’s son, Ross, who is played by Bob Odenkirk comes over.  He is not in the movie much but that fits his character.  His career is a News caster, maybe the most “successful” of the Grant family and he looks down on the rest of the family.

     Why this movie works so well is the character of Woody Grant.  Dern transforms into this character with the help of makeup and the script.  It is a very physical performance; he is playing a fragile, older man.  His facial expressions while other characters are talking to him when he is unaware, are both funny and sad.  What makes this character great is how familiar he is.  He is a quiet man; he does not share what he is thinking or his motivation.  We find out later in the film his motivation and it is like most men, he is doing it all for his family.  He has spent most of his life drinking, he still drinks throughout the film but he has probably slowed down. 

     He is a man filled with regret, but for what is genius.  While in Hawthorn, David learns that Woody was a very kind soul.  He would do anything for anyone, but since the world is cruel, people took advantage of him.  After that he served his country.  So his regret motivated by him being too kind of a man which is most likely what got him to become an alcoholic.

     The film does not have many setbacks.  Payne has made several films including The Decedents, About Schmidt, Sideways and Election.  In most of those films the endings have emotional moments and for the most part they work.  Every once in a while Payne will for one moment go too far and it will be cheesy and sometimes sprain the moment.  This film’s climax is very beautiful until a few shots that are too on the nose and fall flat.  Also some moments that happen near the end are confusing financially.  This does not ruin the film but it kind of deflates its impact.  Another aspect of Payne’s films is some side characters are only stereotypes and nothing else.  In his previous film The Decedents there is a character that is Clooney’s daughter’s boyfriend.  He has some funny lines but he really is only playing the dumb teenager role.  There are several characters, while still being pretty funny, are nowhere near the great characters of the immediate family.

     The film is enjoyable throughout.  It leaves you with familial tropes.  It feels very realistic; there is backstabbing, togetherness from unexpected characters and just pure funny moments.  Nebraska is a real treat and should be seen by everyone.