Nebraska (2013)

Nebraska was originally intended to be Omaha born director Alexander Payne's follow up to his successful and critically acclaimed 2004 film Sideways. I even remember reading online the names of Richard Dreyfuss and Dave Matthews being attached to the project, but for some reason unknown to me the movie didn't happen at that time. It wasn't until 2011 that Payne would release another film, that was the excellent family drama The Descendants staring George Clooney. Well the success of that picture must have been what it took to get Nebraska out of  'development hell' and back on track. I for one believe that the delay helped the finished product, the eventual cast turned out to be unconventional but perfect for the movie and  Payne had also progressed more in his subtlety as a director by in this time.

Nebraska is shot in clean black and white against a backdrop of the stark upper plane states. The film features Brue Dern in a deservedly Oscar nominated turn as Woody Grant, a septuagenarian and retired auto mechanic living in Billings Montana with his wife Kate (About Schmidt veteran June Squibb). Woody seems to be in the early stages of dementia and has become fixated on a mailer he received stating that he has wib a million dollars from a magazine publishing concern in Lincoln, Nebraska. Unable to drive Woody attempts several times to set out for Nebraska on foot, his wife and oldest son Ross (Bob Odenkirk) attempt in vain to convince him that its just an ad and he hasn't really won anything, Woody's youngest son David (played by Will Forte in what is unexpectedly the perfect part for him) tires to convince him as well, but eventually decides that the only way to get his dad to stop setting off for Nebraska on his own is to take him there himself and prove to the old man that he didn't win anything.

So David plays hooky from his go nowhere job as a stereo salesman for a couple of days to take his dad in his Subaru down to Lincoln. On the way the two become involved in a few misadventures and Woody suffers a fall at a motel after doing some heavy drinking. So after a brief hospital stay David re-routes them to Woody's old hometown of Hawthorne, Nebraska to stay with extended family for a few days. While in Hawthorne despite David's pleas for his father not to mention the million dollars, word spreads and before long the whole town thinks Woody has struck it rich. Ross and Kate arrive in town just as old family and friends start to circle around Woody in the hopes of getting some of the money they think he is going to be getting, paramount among these is Woody's devious former business partner Ed Pegram (Stacy Keach, wonderful).  David  comes away from his experiences in Hawthorne having learned a lot about his fathers past that he simply did not know, he gains greater respect for his father and the two become closer as a result. This is an endearing and subtly powerful film about family bonds and the virtue of decency. I won't spoil the ending for you but its beautiful and perfect and Nebraska  takes my vote for the best movie of 2013. ****