Nebraska (2013)

In Billings, Montana, the old mechanic Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) has dementia and believes that he has won a million-dollar prize, but it is actually the marketing advertisement of a magazine. Woody does not drive anymore and he tries to walk to Lincoln, Nebraska, to collect the prize. His wife Kate (June Squibb) and his older son Ross (Bob Odenkirk) want to send him to a nursing home, but his estranged younger son David (Will Forte) decides to satisfy his fantasy and travels with him to Lincoln to claim his prize. During their journey, they stop in Hawthorne to visit their dysfunctional family and friends and David learns the past and dreams of his father. In the end, David makes his father's dreams come true.

"Nebraska" is a sensitive story of a father and son journey where the son understands his old father in an environment of greedy and ignorance of family and friends. The story is simple, the characters are believable and Bruce Dern deserves his nomination to the Oscar. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Nebraska"

Fmovies: Time is a peculiar yet universally felt concept whose effects can be seen in its numerous consequences either through the obvious traits of aging or the far more subtle and subjectively felt intangibles such as regret. In the heart of the Midwest there are depressingly poetic examples of this thoroughly felt concept of time how the vast stretches of what appears to be infinite plains of nothing are filled with monuments of ruin either in the ghost town cities or the deserted farmland all of which are consequences of economic hardship and familial anchors. This is the melancholic setting of Alexander Payne's new film Nebraska, a sad yet endearing road trip film that becomes a sort of modern Don Quixote influenced story where a regret filled, dementia gaining father resembling the infamous dreamer Quixote resiliently chases the remnants of a thin dream accompanied by his affably neutered son serving as the loyal Sancho Panza. Nebraska clearly resembles previous films that have captured the distinct American spirit and eccentric characters of the parched Midwest, including Peter Bogdonovich's The Last Picture Show and David Lynch's oddly accessible The Straight Story, but remains uniquely an Alexander Payne film containing his penchant for mixing whimsically dry humor with poignant humanity. At the center of Payne's film is an astonishingly subtle performance from experienced acting veteran Bruce Dern whose stern blankness and aging dementia makes for an intriguing parallel to the derelict environments throughout the Midwest setting which is captured brilliantly through cinematographer Phedon Papamichael's poetic black & white imagery. This whimsical yet mournful ode to Midwestern life, values, and legacy is aided through the lost art of subtle acting and the usually non-existent talent for subtle direction allowing the intended humor to land directly and the emotional heart to enter gracefully. While Nebraska might be an engaging, humorous, and sweet amalgamation of Payne's previous works where the road trip element of Sideways meets the intimate family dynamic of The Descendants it's definitely a transition film for the quirky storyteller as it embraces a far more poetic and humanist side to the director's incredibly heartfelt style of filmmaking. It's difficult to say where exactly Nebraska will fall in Payne's established film canon but as it stands on its own it's a deeply lyrical reflection on the loss of time and a credible affirmation on the long enduring existence of hope.

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"Nebraska" stars Bruce Dern playing Woody Grant, a 77-year-old man living in Billings, Montana who believes he's won a million dollars from a publisher's sweepstakes just because he received a craftily worded sales letter from the company. When the movie opens, we see Dern on foot, hoofing his way on the outskirts of Billings and on his way to Lincoln, Nebraska to claim his prize. It quickly becomes clear that the years have not been kind to Dern's character Woody. Alcohol, age, the bleak northern US Midwest, and the long line of life's events have left Woody a bit addled, which is why a sales letter can make him believe he's a millionaire. Turns out, he was always like that.

Woody's son David, played by Saturday Night Live alum Will Forte, also lives in Billings. He sells home theaters and other consumer electronics in the local appliance store, drives a dented Suburu wagon, and has the usual dysfunctional relationship with his increasingly disconnected father. After Woody makes several attempts on his own to escape Billings and make it to Lincoln, David agrees to take Woody to Lincoln in his Suburu. Events along the way take both Woody and David to Woody's tiny fictional hometown in northeast Nebraska where Woody's past awaits.

And there you have the setup for another of director Alexander Payne's wonderful road-trip comedies, cast from precisely the same mold as "About Schmidt" and "Sideways." This movie takes us through Woody's long past so that the present can seen with sharper focus. If you like those movies, you will love "Nebraska" too.

There's one more thing you will also love and that is June Squibb's portrayal of Woody's wife Kate. Squibb plays Kate as a force of nature with a mouth that's funny, insightful, profane, and tender all at the same time. Dern's already won one film award for his Woody and many of us believe Squibb will do the same with her Kate Grant. Squibb also played the wife who suddenly dropped dead in "About Schmidt." We didn't get to see much of her in that movie but she gets plenty of opportunity to steal a bunch of scenes in "Nebraska." This is a very funny movie with some poignant statements to make about aging, familial relationships, and the past's influence on the present. In that way, "Nebraska" is just like director Payne's other road-trip movies. But "Nebraska" is its own story with an entirely different take on these topics.

For some of us, it's a lot of fun to see great movies before they open. We got the opportunity to see "Nebraska" a few days before it opened in a national expansion of the New York Film Critics Series, which started in 1995. Last-minute tickets for this event were provided by Paramount through the tireless efforts of Tim Sika, founder and head of the San Jose Camera Cinema Club. Thanks Tim.

Nebraska fmovies. 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

My favorite comedy is sideways (among others) and I love Mr Paynes films (like Election. As an advanced senior I was totally with Bruce Dern, the crankiness, the lack of balance, the drinking the boredom. the many naps. WIll Forte is absolutely superb as a kind loving son, in every way. His patience his help on the many scrapes his dad gets into and his true love. He is a cinch for an Oscar nomination. So are Dern and the actor who plays his wife. Although the film is outright funny, the sensitivity which Payne shows in handling the actors and the bleakness of Nebraska. The people of the small towns are portrayed is as close to real people as you can get. The black and white added to the story, especially the portrayal of the cities and small farms. I think this film will be loved by seniors. Younger people, after they have see Hunger Games could learn a lot from the lives of their grand-parents. A magnificent film, go see it!!

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.