Nebraska

"Nebraska" offers viewers an unstinting view of some very unpleasant things: extreme decrepitude, boundless stupidity, greed and ignorance. There is also very deep, and very painful, love on display in this portrait of an embittered working class eking out a meaningless existence in a dysfunctional and remote place. "Nebraska" oscillates between cynicism and schmaltz, pulling off a wondrous kind of emotional alchemy that few films aspire to, let alone attain.

All of the acting is first rate, though the characterizations are rather broadly drawn. Will Forte plays a dutiful, sensitive, repressed son with seemingly unlimited patience for the eccentricities of those around him. He's the perfect foil for Bruce Dern's semi-catatonic, alcoholic ramblings (both verbal and spatial). June Squibb serves up hilarious venom to spice up the mix.

There were scenes in the movie that so perfectly captured the narrow, soulless, deadening ethos so prevalent in small-town America that I could hardly stand to watch them. It was almost as if the tire stores, bars, gas stations and motels of every desolate corner of America were rolled up into one set of visuals here, captured in stunning black and white cinematography.

I highly recommend "Nebraska."

For those of us not from the Midwest, there is something strange about the place. Its people are taciturn but full of character; its landscape is wide, foreboding and sends the viewer into silence. "Nebraska" sits somewhere between "The Last Picture Show"; monochrome and a sad town full of back stories; and "Fargo", black humor, caricatures and illusions.

Nebraska has many wonderful moments and all of them come along without fanfare, building one on another; little piles of sand mounting to bring the whole piece in one. The structure of this movie is as near to ideal as it gets. It adds and adds layers and events and meaning to the relationships within a family and between a son and his rather hapless father.

The actors make this work so well. The comedy, the idiotic humor, the awkward silences and bitter stories out of the past are alive with humanity. The whole cast is superb. Dern's performance is almost like an old man from a Beckett play; white-haired and selfish, bitter and sad.

The photography and design really add texture. The geometry of the towns and house on the landscape; the broad emptiness of the country create a sense of place. Alexander Payne has made a film to watch again.

NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL: There is a magical and profound power that is exuded from Alexander Payne's film "Nebraska." I loved just about every second of it. Written by Bob Nelson, the black-and-white dramedy takes us through the beautiful and rural Midwest showcasing opulent and lavish cinematography by Phedon Papamichael. And let's not forget the trio of stunning performances from Oscar-nominee Bruce Dern, Will Forte, and June Squibb. The film tells the story of an aging and ailing Woody (Dern) and his son David (Forte) as they venture off from Montana to Nebraska to collect a million dollar prize that Woody believes he has won.

I've long thought that Alexander Payne was one of the more overrated writer/directors working today. Winning two Oscars for screenplay, only one of them was warranted. I merely enjoyed his film "Election" over ten years ago, couldn't find the emotional connection in "About Schmidt" and found myself perplexed by the love that poured in for "The Descendants." His Oscar-winning film "Sideways" was the only film that lived up to the promise and still retains its magic on repeated viewings. The Paramount Vantage film presents an impeccable example of Payne's directorial skills and style when they're utilized with the right material. "Nebraska" is Alexander Payne's best film, bar none. He creates an intimate setting, even when driving cross-country or walking around an abandoned home, Payne keeps the story close and the responses authentic.

Bruce Dern is perfectly used and exquisitely raw presenting the actor's best outing of his career. As the co-anchor of the story, Dern is finally given a chance to show what Hollywood has been missing out on for over fifty years. Touchingly reserved through most of the narrative, Dern allows Woody to open up to the audience for the briefest of moments that works beautifully. It's an Oscar-worthy performance.

Will Forte surprisingly underplays and buries his normal comedic ticks and beats that made him so successful on "Saturday Night Live." His David searches and finds many of the mysteries that embody the enigma of his alcoholic father, giving Forte an ability to connect fully with the audience. He is equally as affecting as Bruce Dern and this will hopefully lead him into more complex and audacious roles like this in the future.

The wonderful and delightful June Squibb steals the show. Getting the film's biggest laughs and in many ways, offering herself up as the emotional pillar in many aspects of the narrative, Squibb is someone that could walk her way to an Oscar. Nelson's writing, especially in the creation of Kate, Woody's wife, is freshly executed. Say hello to one of your Supporting Actress nominees.

Other supporting players giving their all is Stacy Keach playing a sleazy old friend of Woody's and Bob Odenkirk as David's brother Ross, who bounces well off comedian Forte in some of the film's best scenes.

One aspect that I fell in love with was the score of Mark Orton is musical accompaniment lands precisely with every bar and in every scene. Editor Kevin Tent, who has worked on all of Payne's previous films, finally has found his groove and maintains a steady pace to tell our story. I have to admit that when I first heard that the film was going to be shot in black and white, I'm immediately thought it was going to used as a gimmick. Nearly five minutes into the movie, you can see exactly why he chose to use it. Papamichael captures the natural elements of light in several scenes, some involving a simple living room, others when we're in the car with the family. "Nebraska" is one of the year's best pictures. Something that will surely appeal to a certain demographic of the Academy. It runs as a light and comedic companion piece to Michael Haneke's "Amour." It's a film that will surely be in contention for several Academy Awards including Best Picture.

Director Alexander Payne "Sideways" (2004) and "About Schmidt" (2002) deftly handles the road-movie plot structure once again with dark humor and satirical depictions of contemporary American society, yielding fantastic results yet again, as a heartfelt journey to examine his frail and flawed characters. Payne himself is a Nebraska native who felt strongly that the movie be filmed black and white to capture the mood of the old American heartland, and in order for the film to receive funding from Paramount, he had to settle for a smaller budget. As a result, Payne films and casts the movie in local communities with actual residents which provides a realistic texture to the family bonding tale. "Nebraska" is a humorous and heart-rendering story of family, but it also sheds a light onto the people of America's heartland, and our countries economic, moral, and cultural decline.

"Nebraska" starts as a road movie, with a father and son traveling from Billings, Montana to Lincoln, Nebraska. David (Will Forte) has decided to indulge his father Woody (Bruce Dern), who is struggling with dementia and thinks that he can pick up his $1 million in winnings from a magazine distributor in Lincoln. En route, they stop for the weekend in Hawthorne, Dern's hometown, where they're joined by his wife (June Squibb), and his other son (Bob Odenkirk) amidst your stereotypical Midwestern relatives and friends, all of whom are extremely interested to learn that there's now a millionaire before them.

The central relationship between Dern's stubbornly gullible dad and Forte's passively irritated son gradually deepens as the movie makes its way through middle America. What makes the film such a delight to watch are the individuality of its characters. Each one is fun to watch in their own right; the father's relentless determination, the mother's humorous outbursts, and the son's sympathy and desire to bond with his father. "Nebraska" reaches an emotional conclusion that echoes of "About Schmidt" and "The Descendants" (2011) with an underlying sense of lives largely squandered, but handled with grace and finesse that feels innately genuine. "Nebraska" is another finely tuned, superior slice of cinema crafted by Alexander Payne who achieves a more mature, sentimental tone than previous films. The all-around marvelous performances from the cast and supporting non-professional actors add an unmistakable authenticity to this slice of Americana.

I saw the movie at the Helsinki International Film Festival. It tells a story about an old man who is certain that he has won a million dollars and wants to get to Nebraska to collect it. His family is sure that it is a hoax but his son chooses to drive him there so that the thing wouldn't bother his dad anymore.

Everything about the movie is very low key and the pacing is quite slow. This comes from the choice of shooting it in black and white, style of acting, and the locations and events depicted in the film. For long periods, I found it a little hard to get immersed into the events on the screen and empathize with the characters. I kept thinking that the movie repeats what I did not like about Alexander Payne's earlier work About Schmidt. But then somehow the movie started to grow on me. I still feel there is almost weird resemblance to the road trip and family reunion Jack Nicholson's character goes through in About Schmidt but Nebraska has merits of its own. For one, the characters are quite well written. Even the supporting roles provide witty observations of different ways we might react to other person's fortune. Also, the acting is very good throughout the film. The main characters' lives have become unsatisfying and they are trying to deal with it in different ways. Even though it is a little frustrating to watch people who struggle to find anything meaningful to do or say, the script and the actors are able to draw a very accurate picture of everyday life as it sometimes can be. Here and there, they are able to provide a few laughs and even some satisfaction when the characters are developing, albeit slowly.

Overall, I'd end up recommending the film if you have enjoyed Alexander Payne's previous work.