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| Bruce Dern and Will Forte |
Director Alexander Payne ("The Descendants") is back with a well-acted, pensive and quirky black and white character-driven piece "Nebraska" starring Bruce Dern as a cranky Missouri father who's convinced he's won a million dollar magazine sweepstakes, and Will Forte as his son who grudgingly agrees to drive him to Nebraska to claim his winnings. Payne's slice-of-life Americana is sometimes stark, darkly funny and often very poignant, appealing to sensibilities we probably didn't know we had. "Nebraska" features one of Dern's best performances as the old codger and alcoholic with a dream of a better life, and expect plenty of accolades to be thrown his way (he's already won Best Actor at Cannes). Also strong is "Saturday Night Live" vet Forte as his long-suffering son and especially character actress June Squibb as his loud-mouth, equally cranky wife, who steals every scene she's in, providing the film with some of its best lines. If Squibb (also seen briefly as Jack Nicholson's wife in Payne's similarly-themed "About Schmidt") is the most memorable, then Dern's portrayal is the more internalized, fully realized portrayal; it's a nice contrast to see the younger son in his right mind aimlessly drifting coupled with the off-kilter Dad who knows exactly what he wants. Speaking of which, Dern (who admittedly looks like hell here) nails the part perfectly, nicely shaded and underscored by Payne's strong script and the lovely black-and-white cinematography, shot on location in the midwest by Phedon Papamichael, who Payne has used before in "Sideways" and "The Descendants." The film meanders some and its outlook a bit depressing, but it's poignant, sad, funny and touching, expertly handled by Payne and his wonderful cast, particularly all the old folks he gets together in the family scenes. "Nebraska" isn't Payne's all-time best (that belongs to Clooney and "The Descendants"), but it's still a fine, layered film and one of the year's best. Expect plenty of awards for the film, including writing, direction, photography and acting.
Wes's Grade: A-
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