Equal parts nostalgia and comedy, Alexander Payne’s (“The Descendants”) “Nebraska” is a black-and-white drama on the small-town dynamics of family and community. The pieces are at once familiar, but intriguing: the idea of windfall gains, a father-son road trip and an old man crazy enough to believe he’s won $1 million in a sweepstakes he never entered.
Enter Woody Grant (Bruce Dern, “Silent Running”), a stubborn Midwestern father, and a downright adorable scam victim. Given the man’s unrelenting, childlike faith in his $1 million in supposed sweepstakes winnings, even his middle-aged son hesitates to break the truth to him at first. Destroying the illusion feels like pulling the beard off Santa Claus and canceling Christmas—it feels wrong, sinister.
Begrudgingly, Grant’s son, David (Will Forte, “Macgruber”) agrees to accompany his father on a trip from Montana to Lincoln, NE. to “collect” his million dollars. On the road, the father-and-son-duo stop at Grant’s childhood home to visit their friends and relatives—a hilarious bunch—who are more than excited about Grant’s prize winnings, or rather, by the prospect of owning a share of it.
David stands by Grant throughout, but also questions the father he never quite
understood. What is it about the $1 million that Grant cannot let go of? Is it about
the $1 million at all?
Dern and Forte are a duo as effective at storytelling as they are likeable and quirky.
Interesting faces and stories fill in the rest of the picture, with June Squibb (“Meet Joe Black”) in particular as a notable asset to the cast.
The black-and-white cinematography is indicative of perhaps simpler times, when
strangers could be trusted and made accountable for saying “Congratulations! You’ve
won…”, but it also succeeds in providing beautiful snapshot-like moments in scenes. The
style sets in the nostalgic feeling, similar to the way one might reflect on years gone by.
“Nebraska,” in both its lightness and seriousness, feels genuine. The movie is at
times unexpected but pleasantly surprising, well worth a watch if one is looking for
something unconventionally hilarious and heartwarming this holiday season.
