NEBRASKA: a Star Turn for Bruce Dern!

          Being a huge Bruce Dern fan I'm delighted with the recognition he is receiving from his latest starring role in "Nebraska".  From director Alexander Payne of "Sideways, The Descendants, and About Schmidt", "Nebraska" has already earned Dern the best actor award at this years Cannes film festival.  Obviously making him a favorite, not only for the Oscar, but every other award out there.  Although "Nebraska" has yet to open in the Puget Sound region I was able to attend the first US screening of this film last week.  I am actually getting invited to a lot more screenings before the openings so I promise to do my best to get these reviews posted in a timely manner.  Read on my friends for the low down.
     "Nebraska" is a slightly off beat comedy/character study with Woody Grant (Dern) as the central character. A special note here: this film is shot in a luscious black and white.  The effect makes the landscapes barren and stark. The pacing, which is deliberate to begin with, is like watching honey rolling off flapjacks.                                                          The movie begins with Woody at home in Billings, Montana.  Putting on his winter coat and heavy boots, he shuffles out the front door and down the street. He moves with an imbalance that makes the viewer worry he might fall.  And he keeps shuffling and shuffling until finally he reaches the outskirts of town.  When a police officer stops to help the old timer we find out where Woody is headed.  From his jacket pocket he pulls out an "Official Publishers Clearing House" type letter informing him that he has won a million dollars! He just needs to get to Omaha to collect it.  Of course everyone in his family keep trying to tell him it's a scam.  That there is no million dollars, but Woody will hear none of it.  "If it wasn't true they couldn't put it in a letter" says Woody.  Finally his son David, played by Will Forte of SNL fame, agrees to drive his dad to Omaha.  And so begins a meandering road trip with father and son rolling across the flat lands of our great nation.  Of course it's what happens during the trip that really is the meat of the movie.  We all know what is going to happen when Woody tries to collect on his million dollars.    
     The surrounding characters fill in the spaces in very substantial ways. Most are in their seventies and act accordingly which means they are kind of boring.  And funny as all get out.  It is mesmerizing in it's own way. Woody's wife is the only character I had a problem with as I felt she took "cantankerous" to a new level.  Over the top and amateurish acting in my estimation.  Then ten minutes later she has one of the most astonishing scenes in the movie. All with no dialogue.  So I may be harsh. Otherwise it's ensemble acting at it's best.  Stacey Keach turns up for a few choice, dark scenes.  David's brother is played by Bob Odenkirk (Saul from Breaking Bad) who is a self absorbed news anchor on local TV.  Dern may be the center but it is Forte who holds the family together.  This is a very good movie and I recommend this bittersweet comedy which is more sweet than bitter.  Can't we all use a little more sweetness in our lives?
This would be a good date movie.
I give "Nebraska"  a grade of A-