3. Nebraska (2013)

In this era of sequels, superheroes, and more-stunning-than-ever visual effects, it’s refreshing to watch movies that focus on human emotions and drama. ‘Nebraska’ – released during the 2013 holiday season (obviously with an eye on the award season) is just the type of film. A seemingly simple plot has been given the master treatment by Alexander Payne (‘The Descendants’ fame). It’s a story about a journey by a father and son duo through America’s heartland and the strengthening of the bonds between members of a family.

This road trip movie highlights many different aspects of interpersonal relationships. The relationship between a cynical father and his son, the son’s love for his father and his acknowledgement towards the end of the movie, the extended family who don’t really care for the father but suddenly appear warm at the possibility of sharing his fortune etc. A very well-written script which was nominated for an Oscar is another strong point of the movie.

Cast and Crew:

Bruce Dern is very good as the alcoholic father. He has portrayed his characters initial cynicism and  estranged relationship with his family very well. His character is sometimes annoying, and at other times, we feel sorry for him. He deserved an Oscar nod for this complex character. Will Forte is good as the caring son who is initially reluctant but gives in to his father’s wish and drives him cross-country to Nebraska partly to shut him up. June Squib plays the role of a strong doting mother, who is not very supportive of her husband, but when time comes, she stands up to defend her family.

Comments: 

Alexander Payne has kept the story moving at a nice pace throughout. I am becoming a fan of his work. This is the second movie that I have liked after ‘The Descendants’ and I am definitely looking forward to watching ‘Sideways’. The use of Black & White does look good, but I would think it would have an equal impact in color as well. Worth mentioning that the Blu-ray disc has a 3.0 track that has no rear surround and bass – absolutely not necessary for a movie like this whose dialogues are it’s real strength.

The movie is both funny and sad. The subtle humor is prevalent throughout the movie, in the father-son interactions during the road trip, in the scenes with the extended family, the part where the sons try to get their father’s air compressor back from the wrong house and so on. But underneath the humor, lies a disturbing picture of the sort of dysfunctional family. The annoyance of having to deal  with such a headstrong father, the cousins and uncles who have moved away since childhood and don’t really share anything common with the protagonist are all too familiar day to day situations. I especially liked the scene where after spending a day with the relatives and finding out there’s hardly anything common that links the cousins, the protagonist ends up asking his brother who drives down from Billings how long it took him to reach the place. This gets the attention of the whole family who till that point has shown little interest in getting to know their cousin who they are meeting after at least a dozen years. Small scenes like that although funny, a poignant reminder of how disconnected we all have become from our close ones.

We really need more of such films. 

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Final Thoughts:

Overall, this movie features some great acting, script and direction. Although the overall pacing is good, the movie seems just a tad slow during the middle part. Yet another excellent film from Mr. Payne.