If there's one actor who has deserved his time in the spotlight, it's Bruce Dern. The 77-year-old character actor has enjoyed a respectable career over the last four decades, albeit as mostly supporting characters in offbeat pictures. But now, the actor who was most notorious for shooting John Wayne in the back is finally getting to shine in a film all on his own: Alexander Payne's Nebraska.
Comparisons to David Lynch's eloquently brilliant The Straight Story are apt, as Payne's latest offering deals with very similar subject matter (an elderly man going across a significant chunk of the country for reasons not quite understandable by family and friends). Like The Straight Story was for Lynch, Nebraska marks a departure for Payne, as it is the first film he's done that he didn't have a hand in writing (Bob Nelson is the sole writer). The two films also feature immense performance by their leads, character actors both.
Where they differ is that Richard Farnsworth had to carry his film on his stooped shoulders almost entirely by himself, whereas Dern has an interesting array of actors to play off. Dern plays Woody Grant, a cantankerous yet doddering Montana geezer who becomes convinced that he's hit the jackpot — he has received one of those junk sweepstakes letters in the mail, telling him he's won a million dollars. Not content to sit around and wait for someone else to claim his money, Woody sets out to the head office where the letter was sent . . . in Lincoln, Nebraska.
When his adult son David (an uncharacteristically solemn and sturdy Will Forte) catches his old man walking the route on foot, he decides that maybe it's time for a bonding experience with dear old Dad. He's coming off a bad breakup and he's eager for a change in scenery. So they set off . . . and almost immediately, their trip is derailed when Woody hurts himself, causing them to stop to convalesce in Hawthorne, the one-stop Nebraska town where Woody spent his boyhood and where the rest of his family resides. While Woody recuperates, the rest of his family delights over his newfound fortune, not hearing a single word that David tries to tell them about how it's just a scam. Soon, Woody's impending wealth becomes the talk of the town, which of course ends up luring some pretty shady folks hoping to get a piece of the pie, especially his old partner Ed (Stacy Keach, who plays sleazeballs better than anyone).
Throughout all of this, Woody pretty much is content to let people walk all over him, and it's no wonder why. Not long after they touch down in Hawthorne, they are joined by Woody's wife, Kate (June Squibb) and elder son Ross (Bob Odenkirk). The second that Kate's squat form takes the screen, we know exactly why Woody walks around with a defeated look on his face all the time. Kate's a no-bullsh_t kind of gal, with a vicious tongue she uses to browbeat her boys, especially her addled husband. It's a glorious turn, and Squibb seems to relish the opportunity to steal scenes whenever she can (a stop in the local cemetery provides a golden scene that ranks as one of the funniest of the year).
What is fascinating about the film is how Payne and Nelson depict small-town life. I couldn't help but see Nebraska as sort of a glimpse in the future of King of the Hill, with an adult Bobby and geriatric Hank enjoying a father/son road trip at last. There is also a sort of interesting hypocrisy to every one of the characters, which sort of shatters the idea of down-home values. Even old Woody has his dark side, with his history of drinking and his curt dismissiveness of everything around him.
Nebraska is cleanly shot, beautifully rustic. The cinematography is lovely, the black-and-white style reminiscent of The Last Picture Show. But where it truly excels are in its performances. Forte plays a rather excellent straight man here, playing off of his showier co-stars with a great deal of restraint and gravitas. Wouldn't have expected it from him. Squibb gets the juicy lines and the vicious delivery, and she earns the biggest laughs in the film. Stacy Keach, Bob Odenkirk, Rance Howard, even Buzz from Home Alone all get their moments to shine . . . but the film really wouldn't work half as well without Dern. Decades of melancholy are etched on his weathered face, the set of his jaw. He says and does so much by saying and doing so little. Earlier this year, Robert Redford busted his ass to give his finest performance to date in a mostly-silent performance as a marooned ancient mariner. Dern doesn't even break a sweat with his.
Comparisons to David Lynch's eloquently brilliant The Straight Story are apt, as Payne's latest offering deals with very similar subject matter (an elderly man going across a significant chunk of the country for reasons not quite understandable by family and friends). Like The Straight Story was for Lynch, Nebraska marks a departure for Payne, as it is the first film he's done that he didn't have a hand in writing (Bob Nelson is the sole writer). The two films also feature immense performance by their leads, character actors both.
Where they differ is that Richard Farnsworth had to carry his film on his stooped shoulders almost entirely by himself, whereas Dern has an interesting array of actors to play off. Dern plays Woody Grant, a cantankerous yet doddering Montana geezer who becomes convinced that he's hit the jackpot — he has received one of those junk sweepstakes letters in the mail, telling him he's won a million dollars. Not content to sit around and wait for someone else to claim his money, Woody sets out to the head office where the letter was sent . . . in Lincoln, Nebraska.
When his adult son David (an uncharacteristically solemn and sturdy Will Forte) catches his old man walking the route on foot, he decides that maybe it's time for a bonding experience with dear old Dad. He's coming off a bad breakup and he's eager for a change in scenery. So they set off . . . and almost immediately, their trip is derailed when Woody hurts himself, causing them to stop to convalesce in Hawthorne, the one-stop Nebraska town where Woody spent his boyhood and where the rest of his family resides. While Woody recuperates, the rest of his family delights over his newfound fortune, not hearing a single word that David tries to tell them about how it's just a scam. Soon, Woody's impending wealth becomes the talk of the town, which of course ends up luring some pretty shady folks hoping to get a piece of the pie, especially his old partner Ed (Stacy Keach, who plays sleazeballs better than anyone).
Throughout all of this, Woody pretty much is content to let people walk all over him, and it's no wonder why. Not long after they touch down in Hawthorne, they are joined by Woody's wife, Kate (June Squibb) and elder son Ross (Bob Odenkirk). The second that Kate's squat form takes the screen, we know exactly why Woody walks around with a defeated look on his face all the time. Kate's a no-bullsh_t kind of gal, with a vicious tongue she uses to browbeat her boys, especially her addled husband. It's a glorious turn, and Squibb seems to relish the opportunity to steal scenes whenever she can (a stop in the local cemetery provides a golden scene that ranks as one of the funniest of the year).
What is fascinating about the film is how Payne and Nelson depict small-town life. I couldn't help but see Nebraska as sort of a glimpse in the future of King of the Hill, with an adult Bobby and geriatric Hank enjoying a father/son road trip at last. There is also a sort of interesting hypocrisy to every one of the characters, which sort of shatters the idea of down-home values. Even old Woody has his dark side, with his history of drinking and his curt dismissiveness of everything around him.
Nebraska is cleanly shot, beautifully rustic. The cinematography is lovely, the black-and-white style reminiscent of The Last Picture Show. But where it truly excels are in its performances. Forte plays a rather excellent straight man here, playing off of his showier co-stars with a great deal of restraint and gravitas. Wouldn't have expected it from him. Squibb gets the juicy lines and the vicious delivery, and she earns the biggest laughs in the film. Stacy Keach, Bob Odenkirk, Rance Howard, even Buzz from Home Alone all get their moments to shine . . . but the film really wouldn't work half as well without Dern. Decades of melancholy are etched on his weathered face, the set of his jaw. He says and does so much by saying and doing so little. Earlier this year, Robert Redford busted his ass to give his finest performance to date in a mostly-silent performance as a marooned ancient mariner. Dern doesn't even break a sweat with his.