Nebraska (2013)
“You’re just like your father. Stubborn as a mule!”
As a fan of cinema sometimes a film will charm and endear itself to you through its utter simplicity, a thoroughly engaging narrative and character creations that you can’t help but cheer for, and Nebraska is certainly one such film. In many ways it’s a companion piece to Alexander Payne’s under appreciated 2004 classic Sideways with two male lead characters bumbling through middle America on their comic, yet often melancholic road movie of discovery. The film also owes a debt to the Coen Brothers eponymous 1996 film Fargo, albeit minus the snow and mysterious briefcase, as our characters are enveloped in the wonderful wide shots of a desolate, untouched and out of touch middle America left behind by big business in the nearby larger cities. The wide angle shots of what some might argue as unspoiled American countryside are brilliantly captured by regular Director of Photography and collaborator Phedon Papamichael, as are the simple and unassuming small towns that our protagonists visit in their quest, however the comparisons with Fargo continue with the long straight roads they traverse, the awkward, stilted language employed and Mark Orton’s mournful, simple fiddle and string inspired musical score.
The film garnered six Oscar nominations in 2014 including Phedon Papamichael for his brilliantly realised cinematography, Bob Nelson for his Best Original Screenplay and both the Director and the film itself were nominated for the highest honours available in the categories of Best Director and Best Film, however these accolades only serve to highlight what a wonderful and justly recognised triumph of a film this is.
The scene is set from the very first frame with an old style Paramount Pictures logo in black and white which is the colour palette for the entire film. Director Payne lobbied the studio for the film to be shot and released in black and white and succeeded despite their reticence and their eye towards the commercial impact this may have had, however it captures and indeed suits the blackly comedic and melancholic nature of the narrative perfectly. It has to be said and indeed could be argued that along with its companion piece Sideways that this film isn’t for all tastes and where some will see it as a moribund, slow and ponderous piece, others may see a darkly humoured, charming, yet melancholic affair of the heart.
The principal protagonist in this tale is “Woody Grant” (Bruce Dern) who thoroughly deserved his Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his heart breaking portrayal of an old man nearing the end of his life and suffering terribly from the effects of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. After serving his country in the war, fostering a successful business and working his entire life and often to the benefit of others, fate has played a cruel trick on Woody as his once fresh faced, effervescent and hard working self has been replaced with a gnarly, gruff and off hand persona who whilst struggling with this debilitating disease is nagged constantly by his wife as he remains distant and estranged from his sons. It’s clearly established early on that Woody was never an angel nor an eloquent or loquacious man and there’s more than a hint that he was and still is an alcoholic, but maybe, just maybe all of his continuing mental and physical problems could be assuaged somewhat.
Woody believes that he’s won $1,000,000 and he intends to travel to Lincoln, Nebraska any way he can to collect his windfall. Accompanied by his youngest son “David” (Will Forte) and against the wishes of his older son “Ross” (Bob Odenkirk) Woody is able, albeit through his limitations, to live again and to absently minded dream of collecting his winnings. But first, and against his wishes, he must pass through the town of Hawthorne and the town in which he spent the majority of his younger life. Suffice to say Bruce Dern is absolutely magnificent as the gruff, angry and deteriorating Woody. Along with the rest of his family he’s “not much of a talker” and has “nothing to say” but he doesn’t need to as his every look and disgruntled mannerisms display to us the audience exactly how he feels. His dismissal of everything with either a shrug of the shoulders or a single word or phrase is caustically funny at times and heart breaking at others however he’s single minded and desperate to reach Lincoln, Nebraska to claim the prize of a lifetime.
Oh, and to escape, if only for a few days, the constant nagging of his wife!
Last but by no means least of the Oscar nominated performances for this wonderful film comes from June Squibb as Woody’s intolerant, nagging and acid tongued wife of 42 years “Kate Grant”. June returns to an Alexander Payne directed film 11 years after playing a similar role in his 2002 film About Schmidt and continues where she left off albeit in a much larger role and with a far sharper tongue! Kate is plainly sick and tired of her husband’s obsession and his near constant drinking and she has no filter whatsoever for what she says or how she expresses her feelings. Kate often speaks without thinking or with any concern for the situation or her audience but she’s “only telling the truth” and often in a darkly comic and gut wrenching way.
June Squibb portrays the family matriarch superbly with a free spirited verve that rightly saw her receive an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Interestingly, for someone so free spirited, Kate Grant has the most incisive and lengthy dialogue in a film devoid of any elongated speech whatsoever but it’s clear early on that the awkward silences that often envelop this film is not in her make up. June Squibb’s portrayal is another wonderful character performance in a film full of them and another character in an Alexander Payne film that reminds me of a member of my own family. Here, Kate Grant minus the acid tongue, is my Mother, and bless them both for it!
There are a wealth of supporting and cameo roles that are as nuanced and as ultra bizarre as the next with Stacy Keach outstanding as Woody’s long time friend and ex business partner “Ed Pegram”, Rance Howard is excellent as Woody’s equally distant and laconic “Uncle Ray” and there’s a beautifully soft and subtle performance from Angela McEwen as local newspaper publisher “Peg Nagy”. Finally, keep an eye out for the performances from Tim Driscoll as “Bart” and Devin Ratray as “Cole” — their double act summarises life in a middle American town to a tee with their bumbling antics and juvenile jokes providing further levity to the film as a whole. But we end with a central performance that is often overlooked and criminally so, from Will Forte.
“David Grant” (Will Forte) In a performance of sublime comic timing set amid his utter devotion to his Father, Will Forte is arguably the stand out performer here and cruelly overlooked for first time Oscar recognition. David is the polar opposite of his go getting TV Host older brother Ross and is going through a mid-life crisis of sorts as he’s unable to enthuse about his job, his life and is unable to commit to his long term girlfriend. David is also saddened by his Father’s predicament, he wants to spend more time with him and that throughout their lives they have never been close and become further and further estranged from one another. In a role eerily similar to that of Paul Giamatti’s “Miles” in Sideways, David remains stoical and steadfast with impeccable manners whilst the madness of the situation envelops and swallows everyone else. Whether he’s the butt of Bart and Cole’s inane jokes and observations, trying to keep his Mother under control or sitting in comically awkward silences with his extended family, you are drawn to Forte’s still, subtle and seemingly effortless performance.
He’s estranged from Woody and may even have picked up some of his Father’s bad habits growing up but he still wants to indulge him in his Millionaire fantasy as well as spending time with him and crucially, looking after him. He does this by constantly, but simply, watching and looking at his Father, waiting for an answer or a blunt reaction. David is always looking at his Father and it provides a striking and nuanced premier performance from Forte. Woody “just needs something to live for” and Forte’s portrayal of a soul broken, disinterested and distracted son is shot through the prism of the finest of black comedy and is a performance to behold.
As you may have guessed, this is yet another Alexander Payne film that I absolutely adore and I highly recommend it to you, dear reader. Further narrative spoilers aside and in summation, there is much to admire in Nebraska. The blackest of comedy is pitch perfect and brilliantly exemplified by the Hawthorne family reunion and its yawning, awkward silences.
Equally, Woody’s reaction to Mount Rushmore is priceless and only eclipsed by his wife’s foul mouthed temper and her family history speech at the local cemetery. Each character has a very definite and individual arc and story to tell with Bruce Dern in particular giving a performance of a lifetime as the gruff old man dealing with a horrific and debilitating condition. And if you don’t punch the air with delight as his wife Kate tells the extended family what she REALLY thinks of them, then you may have missed the point of this melancholic yet beautiful film entirely.
Sideways (2004) Read Along
Every time I re-watch Alexander Payne’s finest directorial achievement two thoughts constantly run through my splintered mind (1) I am the Paul Giamatti character “Miles” (aside from his ability to quaff vast amounts of wine) and (2) the film as a whole …
“The Holdovers” (2023)
“I find the world to be a bitter and complicated place and it seems to feel the same way about me”.
“Nebraska” can also be found within my 7 volumes of “Essential Film Reviews Collection” on Amazon with each and every volume free to read should you have a Kindle “Unlimited” package. All 9 of my self-published books can also be read for free on Kindle (but go on, treat yourself to a paperback or hardback version!) and should you watch my short Youtube video linked in the middle of this article you’ll also find links to my Patreon and Buy Me A Coffee and other ways of supporting my work as an independent writer.
"The Essential Film Reviews Collection VOL.7" - link to Amazon
Thanks for reading. I hope this message in a bottle in The Matrix finds you well, prospering, and the right way up in an upside down world.
"...an old style Paramount Pictures logo in black and white..." Was it the "A Paramount Picture" logo used from the 1910s to the 1950s or the one from the Gulf & Western years (1960s and 1970s)?