Nebraska is a movie I didn’t know I had to see until I’d seen it. Nothing about the movie screams “Awesome!” or “So Amazing” and hell, it’s in black and white! But when a film gets nominated for quite a few Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Cinematography, and Directing) you kind of have to get over your preconceived notions and see what all the fuss is about.
Nebraska is the story of aging Woody (Bruce Dern – he’s been in quite a few movies…recently we saw him in Marnie as the quite hot sailor who is key to what happened to Marnie) who receives a Publishers’ Clearing House-type letter informing him he’s won a million dollars. Woody adamantly makes his way to Lincoln, NE to collect his prize although his only method of getting there is walking. This stubborn behavior is driving his wife Kate (June Squibb) nuts and she has to keep calling their son David (the surprisingly amazing Will Forte) to pick Woody up and bring him home. David’s home life is a bit depressing at the moment and he sees that Woody isn’t going to give this trip to Lincoln up, so he decides to shake things up and indulge Woody (and keep him from walking on the highway), driving him to Lincoln.
Obviously we all know full well that there is no million-dollar prize awaiting Woody in Lincoln as it’s just a gimmick to get people to buy magazines. Unfortunately Woody doesn’t (or won’t) understand that. Their road trip from Billings, MT to Lincoln is cut short halfway through and they have to stop in Hawthorne, NE. It’s here where most of the movie takes place and in which we get to dive into Woody’s life as most of his surviving brothers and early acquaintances all live there.
At this point is when we really get into what Nebraska is all about. It’s a heart-breaking movie to be honest. There are lots of themes being put into play. David is struggling with a father who may or may not be suffering from dementia. Woody’s health is constantly in peril due to his own long-term drinking, his age, and the fact that at his age, injuries end up putting him in the hospital. Then we get into the exploration of a parent’s life before you were even an idea. As they spend time in Hawthorne and the whole family gets brought together, a lot of the past is brought up giving David a lot of insight into who his father really is. Then of course, when word gets out that Woody is headed to Lincoln so he can collect a million-dollar prize, everyone buys into it whether it’s to believe something good can happen to one of their own (as Hawthorne is a postcard picture of what happens to middle America when the economy drops out) or it’s because they suddenly see Woody as a piggy bank ready for smashing.
Is the movie just a bleak portrayal of a life now approaching the end or a decimated middle America? Not at all. In fact, the movie is often quite hilarious. Alexander Payne, who directed this movie, also made Election, About Schmidt, and Sideways. These are all movies that cast a harsh and realistic light on topics but also find the wicked humor in these situations. Case in point is June Squibb who plays Woody’s wife, Kate. She’s a woman who still has a lot to say and isn’t going to be quiet for anyone and especially likes (or is compelled) to give Woody tons of shit. She knows the dirt and the score of everyone in Hawthorne and when she comes to town to make sure Woody’s okay, she also helps keep everyone around her aware that she is on to their games. If you don’t cheer when she finally tells some folks to “Go Fuck Yourselves” I don’t know if I want to be your friend.
In the end, the movie ended just as it needed to. I was very happily surprised that I enjoyed Nebraska as much as I did, but I don’t know if it will do all that well when it comes time to hand out the Academy Awards. There are much showier parts and movies vying for the awards and if you don’t bother to even watch Nebraska it would be easy to overlook and ignore. I’d put June Squibb over Jennifer Lawrence for Best Supporting Actress, but I haven’t seen 12 Years a Slave and everyone seems to be in love with Lupita Nyong’o for her role in it. Bruce Dern does a LOT with very few words and it’s easy to forget there’s an actor playing a role happening. Regardless of its awards collecting capabilities, Nebraska is a fantastic film and highly recommended.