Great performances, especially from June Squibb who was absolutely hilarious. It's also fairly well-written. Its depiction of small-town America is pretty spot on. But I wasn't as engaged as I was with previous Alexander Payne films. It's definitely no The Descendants or Election. B-

An achingly quiet slice of life from Alexander Payne. Payne's one of my favorite filmmakers, and while Nebraska is a fairly minor work in his oeuvre, that sort of seems to be the point. It's just sort of a brief window into these's people lives over the course of one road trip. The acting from Bruce Dern and Will Forte is excellent. Dern's subdued turn as an old man approaching senility reveals a lot of the character's history without exposition, while Forte (and his expressive eyes) plays it straight as a kind guy very unlike the rest of his family. The standout supporting turn comes from a hilarious June Squibb as a woman who can be an irritating harpy or a determined force of nature, depending on the particular line of dialogue. It's not glamorous and it's not particularly exciting, at least in a conventional sense. But Nebraska is melancholy and poignant. B+

Another often hilarious and also moving and profound film by Alexander Payne, further securing his position at the forefront of modern American cinema. The grim opening shot, a B&W image of an elderly man slowly ambling down the side of an anonymous Midwestern highway, painful step by painful step, may inspire audiences to clench their jaws and prepare for a devastating examination of the cruelty of aging in the heartland. While sad, the film, however, soon reveals a lighter touch, blending soulful melancholy and biting humor with a deft hand.

The man on the road is Woodrow T. Grant, a long-term alcoholic with one hesitant foot in the present and the other in the fog of old age, and he is played by Bruce Dern, the veteran character actor whose numerous credits include Coming Home, Family Plot, and Silent Running. This is an example of an actor receiving a defining role late in life, given a chance to put his weathered visage to poignant use and explore frailty and regret in depth, guided by the confident hand of a top director. The character is on his way from Montana to Lincoln, Nebraska to collect a million-dollar prize after receiving a notice from a Publishers Clearing House type company. He is unaware it is a scam or at least refuses to let on otherwise. Former Saturday Night Live cast member Will Forte displays a more sensitive side as David, one of Woodrow's two sons, a man with a dead-end job at an electronics store and a desire to allow his unstable father to see his quixotic dream through to its conclusion, if only to spend time with him. Stealing scenes with ease which would arouse jealousy in Cary Grant's character in To Catch a Thief is June Squibb as the Grant family matriarch, a stout woman dealing in blunt-force honesty capable of slicing through any amount of buttoned-up small-town B.S.

The family's journey, which includes an extended stay in the father's hometown, is composed in its entirety of small moments (conflicts, reunions, and discoveries in miniature), but its cumulative impact is large, and the heartfelt core of the story compensates for scenes and peripheral characters the director's critics will identify, fairly or not, as evidence of an amused disdain for the square population of the fly-over states.

A-

I thought this was excellent. Not something I'd revisit but it has a very good script and strong performances.

NEBRASKA

Black and White. Bruce Dern. Will Forte. Who knew this film was gonna be this good? I loved this film. It touches on a few different themes such as alcoholism/dementia/struggling 30ish adults/family relationships and I loved all of that. The story has a simple goal. Old man wants to claim his fake winnings but must travel to Nebraska to get it. However, interesting stuff happens in between and the actions and dialogue that takes place between the father and son and later on the mother just drew me into this film. I thought Dern was great. I thought Forte was probably greater in my view. The mother was good too. I'm definitely going to purchase this film on blu ray. One thing that I thought was a bit perplexing was how Forte's character could spend 2 years in a relationship with that chunky girl. Personally, I thought he could have done better.

Grade - A

1. About Schmidt
2. Sideways
3. Nebraska
4. The Descendants
5. Election
6. Citizen Ruth

middle america sux

Something I found interesting - everyone (including myself) keep praising the hell out of Payne for this film and one tends to forget that for the first time, it wasn't hs screenplay that he brought on screen, but Bob Nelson's. Nelson deserves a lion's share of praise.

On the other hand, it is still crazy how close this feels to other Payne-films.

Lists?

1. Election (A)
2. Sideways (A)
3. The Descendants (A)
4. About Schmidt (A-)
5. Nebraska (B+)
6. Citizen Ruth (B)

I thought this was wonderful and better than The Descendants for sure. It was incredibly funny and Dern and Forte were both fantastic. Squibb was also very good and hysterical in her role. One of the best of the year and if it were any other year it would have easily been on my top ten, there were just too many great movies this year.

9/10

Low key, hilarious, Nebraska.


16 out of 5.

Hang on there, Chad. Any Payne poll that doesn't lead with Election is automatically deemed invalid.

I didn't love watching it that much for pacing reasons, but it's a strong enough drama from an acting, writing, directing standpoint. Bruce Dern is great but I preferred Will Forte even more. He played the baggage his character has to carry just perfectly. I may have put him in my final 5 in Actor even in this stacked year and I'm looking forward to seeing if he can carry this to other roles

I feel like Election/Sideways/About Schmidt/Citizen Ruth are superior, while the Descendants is the only true disappointment in Payne's resume

A

Just like Sideways, the film holds up. Alexander Payne can do no wrong and it really should be a matter of time until he finally lands a film that will play well enough with the Academy to award him and the film the top honors they deserve. I haven't seen Citizen Ruth, but out of all the following Payne-directed film, Nebraska is the most low-key and seemingly personal film. It is also his most subtly emotional one. Bruce Dern delivers the performance of a lifetime, but he is also supported by great turens from Will Forte, June Squibb (who should have won the Oscar), Bob Odenkirk and Stacy Keach (delightfully mean). As I have stated above, it is crazy how much this feels like other films by Payne, even though he did not write the screenplay. I have gotta wonder whether that Bob Nelson guy is not just a pseudonym, heh. Either way, the screenplay is fantastic and poignant and brings its point home, slowly but surely. Was the black-and-white cinematography necessary? I'm not sure, but it certainly looked beautiful. The film never misses a beat and on further viewings might actually advance to the top of my list of Payne-directed films. Right now the list looks like this:

1. The Descendants
2. Sideways
3. Nebraska
4. About Schmidt
5. Election

None of the films is less than good, though. The Top 3 belong to the best of their respective years.

The black and white is a gimmick, for sure, but it exemplifies the simplicity of the whole thing.

Only watched it once but I loved it.

Delightful film. I am sure everyone's already said why it's good. Shame it didn't win a damn thing at the Oscars. It's much better than 12 Years a Slave. It's touching, humorous, and really well photographed. Being in black and white helps in some way too.