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| Woody and David Grant. |
At last a film directed by Alexander Payne that I actually
like!
About Schmidt (2002), the
comedy drama that stared Jack Nicholson as a retiree who goes on a road trip
following the death of his wife, is as near I’ve come so far. I certainly could
not warm to
Sideways (2002) mainly
because I did not like any of the main characters, alcohol bores do nothing for
me, but even this movie was not as dreadful as
Descendants
(2011) a
subdued overindulgent movie that even
George Clooney could not pull out of the fire. So why is Payne’s latest film, Nebraska
(2013), so much more enjoyable, well perhaps its because he had so little to do
with the writing, leaving it up to scribe Bob Nelson to prepare a brilliantly
entertaining and humorous debut script partly based on the writers own family
history in Illinois. In fact like some of the best stories its simple premise
is full of great characters that are both believable and real. Phedon
Papamichael, who had worked along side Payne in his two previous outings, shot
in black and white, his cinematography underlining the economic decay in
America’s heartland where the story is based.
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| A family get together. |
Woody Grant insists on
travelling some 750 miles from his home in Billings Montana to collect the $1
million prize money he’s convinced he has won in a company’s sweepstake.
Prepared to do the journey on foot if necessary Woody’s middle aged son David
offers to drive him to Lincoln, Nebraska to collet his ‘winnings’ despite his
mother Kate’s disapproval. But due to Woody’s deteriorating mental state or was
it a beer to many, the old man has a bad fall, ends up in hospital which forces
father and son to spend a weekend in Woody’s old home town where Kate and
David’s brother join them for a family reunion. When the town folk hear of
Woody’s ‘good luck’ long standing
grudges and family secrets seep to the surface.
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| The matriarch. |
Its strength in in its
simplicity and in its acting, bringing to mind David Lynch’s The Straight Story (1999) about another
cantankerous old man who makes a long journey by lawn mower to mend his
relationship with his brother. Bruce Dern, who won Best Actor at Cannes for his
role, has been making feature films and TV series for best part of 54 years. He
has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role as
Woody Grant and certainly deserves this Oscar nod. 84-year-old June Squibb has also been
nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her wonderful performance as
the matriarch Kate Grant. The comedy actor Will Forte who plays his role with
such feeling plays David Grant; you could almost believe that Woody and David
are actually father and son as their mannerisms are so close. Supporting roles
come from Bob Odenkirk as Ross Grant and Stacy Keach as Ed Pegram an old
adversary of Woody’s. A gem of a road
movie that proves emotional wealth is far more important than financial.
Payne’s film has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture but I
imagine that it will be overlooked; nevertheless it reminds you how good American
independent cinema can be.
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| Woody and Kate discuss the pro's and con's of married life! |
