The quote “Keep it simple, stupid” has never been more fitting than when you relate it to Alexander Payne’s movies. His films are realistic and relatable portrayals of family life; emphasizing themes that everyone has to face at one point: the death of a loved one, growing old, learning to accept your choices, and, above all things, the idea of redemption. And never has he accentuated these ideals so perfectly than in the black-and-white southern-based “Nebraska.” This may not be the best film of the year. But it’s definitely one of my personal favorites.
At the start of “Nebraska,” we see an elderly man striding down a busy street in Billings, Montana. He is Woody Grant (Bruce Dern), a 77-year-old man on a mission to Lincoln, Nebraska, where he claims that he has won $1 million dollars from a sweepstakes. And he is determined to retrieve the money, even despite assertions from both his wife Kate (June Squibb) and his sons David (Will Forte) and Ross (Bob Odenkirk) that the sweepstakes is a scam. After several more incidents where Woody “escapes” his house, his son David decides to drive him to Nebraska, if only to convince him once and for all that he really did not win anything.
The tone of “Nebraska” could easily have been one of bleakness, due to it being based around the actions of a seemingly senile old man. However, we instead find a cheerful, nostalgic view of the South, where small towns of people know each other by name, and, even after years of being away, it is as if you never left. Woody and his son eventually end up in Hawthorne, Nebraska, where Woody grew up. Since he still believes himself to have won the money from the sweepstakes, he starts to tell everyone about it. And, as the word spreads, he becomes a local celebrity. Woody is a bitter, short-tempered old man, who, went not zoning out, will lash out at people around him. But looking deeper, you can tell that Woody really just wants to be accepted, by both his peers and his family. Bruce Dern’s portrayal here is among the finest of his more than 50-year career.
David Grant, as the down-to-earth son, serves as a balance to the wild unpredictability of Woody. He is the only person who truly seems to care for and love his father, despite his flaws. Redemption for Woody, he realizes, can only be achieved through his own selfless actions, even if this consists of driving hundreds of miles on a wild goose chase. Will Forte, who plays David, shows a diverse side to his acting abilities, as before he was mainly known for his comedic role on “30 Rock.”
As a film about old-time values, and itself dealing with the ideas of growing old and accepting the choices you made in life, the black-and-white cinematography of “Nebraska” unvarying fits these themes. It adds a layer of remembrance of the past where Woody grew up, and makes it seem as if, in this town, time stands still. As a transition between scenes, there will be shown a stationary shot of an empty landscape, while some gentle country guitar strums in the background. It is soft and simple, just like life here must be.
In my favorite scene of “Nebraska,” a roomful of old people, as motionless as statues, are sitting together in a room, watching a sports game on TV. Occasionally, one of them will add a comment, only to have another one bring up something entirely unrelated, as if each of them are lost in their own little world. David sits to the side, feeling like an outsider as the only person there under the age of 70. And awkward as it may seem, it is a very funny scene. Humor is found in the little things in life, and it is with this ideal that “Nebraska” succeeds the most.
Although I very much enjoyed Payne’s past films “About Schmidt,” “Sideways,” and “The Descendants,” this is easily my favorite of all of them. He has brought together the most thoughtful themes from his films, embellished them with gorgeous southern landscape cinematography, and balanced it out with the finest performances from his actors. Going against what is typically popular in modern movies, Payne even chose to film “Nebraska” in black-and-white, a choice that I deeply respect. I’m not sure how he will top his work here, but I look forward to being surprised.