Nebraska

Nebraska is a rare example of an Alexander Payne film where he was not directly involved in the writing of the script. As such, it has a different flavor to it than his other works while at the same time being obviously his. The script, penned by Bob Nelson, was presented to Payne in the hopes he could recommend a good director to helm the project. Payne read it and wanted to do it himself, although he was just wrapping up work on Sideways, a road film set in the California wine country, and didn’t want to make a second road film in a row. So he buried himself in a different kind of film first, The Descendants, before moving on to Nebraska.

It was his decision to make Nebraska a black-and-white feature, though it was not shot on black-and-white film. Instead, it was lit with that in mind and converted to black-and-white after the fact. This gives the film a different look than conventional black-and-white photography, more closely resembling what was done in Pleasantville. The photography incensed Paramount Vantage, who did not wish to release a film in that format. To placate them to a degree, a color version was also produced, but Payne didn’t want anyone to ever see it. Despite that, it was shown briefly in the summer of 2014 on cable. Thankfully, all streaming and physical copies, that I’m aware of, are how the director intended it; it gives the film a sense of bleakness that lends itself well to the proceedings. 

The setting is Billings, Montana. Woody Grant (Bruce Dern), an elderly man, is arrested for walking on the Interstate. He is picked up at the police station by his son, David (Will Forte), who discovers that Woody was attempting to walk to Lincoln, Nebraska, to collect a one-million-dollar sweepstakes prize he believes he has won. He refuses to accept what his family insists is just a mail scam designed to get people to subscribe to some magazines. Seeing that he cannot convince his father, David agrees to drive him to Lincoln, a trip of about 900 miles, thinking it will be an opportunity to spend some time with him and give his mother, Kate, (June Squibb, in a delightfully raunchy performance) a break. Woody’s other son, Ross (Bob Odenkirk), tries to convince him that he owes nothing to Woody, because as a parent, he was a neglectful alcoholic who had affairs with other women and never seemed to love anyone, including his own wife and kids. 

After an accident in a bar in Rapid City, South Dakota, Woody ends up spending the night in the hospital. While there, David learns that they will be passing through Woody’s hometown of Hawthorne, Nebraska, and he convinces his father to stop and see his brother Ray (Rance Howard) and his family. While in Hawthorne, Woody foolishly mentions his “winnings,” news of which starts spreading throughout town, causing excitement. With that comes outstretched hands as people start showing up demanding repayment for loans they gave Woody or assistance they supposedly provided over the years. Kate, and later Ross, arrive in Hawthorne, and tensions rise. Later, Ed Pegram (Stacy Keach), Woody’s old business partner, threatens legal action if he doesn’t get money he feels is owed him. Greed turns to ridicule once the truth is revealed, and people discover he hasn’t won anything after all. 

At its heart, this is an examination of an unconventional familial bond between a man and the father he never really knew. We get no flashbacks to David’s childhood or Woody’s younger days; we only learn about it from the words of those who experienced it and Woody’s own inexplicable explanation of how it all came about. During a conversation with David where the son asks the father straight up why he got married, Woody’s response is to shift the blame to the mother, saying he only married her because she wanted to get married. He also says that the only reason they had kids was because that is the natural result of having so much sex. This explanation may seem insane, but the way Bruce Dern delivers it, it feels like this is a genuine look at how he views his family. If so, this is absolutely heartbreaking and not what David needs to hear.

The plot about people showing up with hands out, looking for money, is a bit too on the nose. We’ve all heard about how people show up out of the woodwork with IOU’s whenever someone wins the lottery or otherwise comes into a lot of cash. Most people joke about how they would keep it a secret if that were to ever happen so as to avoid all those so-called friends and family looking for handouts. We come to expect this response to sudden winnings.

What is more interesting is the responses of those who aren’t looking for a handout. Those people are far more interesting to look at than Ed Pegram or Woody’s greedy nephews, Cole and Bart (Devin Ratray and Tim Driscoll). An old girlfriend of his, for instance, wants to write a story for the Hawthorne newspaper and is sympathetic when David tells her there really isn’t a million-dollar winning. Ray and his wife, despite having their greedy sons involved, show no interest in the money, either. They live comfortably as is, with Ray spending his time sitting in a chair by the road so he can watch the cars go by. He and his wife are about the only extended family Woody has that isn’t out for themselves.

With all the people showing up with hands outstretched, Kate finally has had enough. She calls out the people for their demands for money, pointing out that they all have their own unpaid debts, including using Woody as a free mechanic for decades. I am reminded at times of my own father, who was far too nice to say no and spent a lot of his free time building cabinets, doing electrical, and other expensive maintenance work for others out of the kindness of his heart. It wasn’t always free work, but it was rarely paid at fair market value. That’s the way my father was and still is, although health and his age have slowed him down a bit. 

Once word gets out that the sweepstakes that Woody has “won” is fake, all those people wanting money from him turn on him instead. Suddenly, he is a man to scorn and mock. David, who has been more than tolerant and understanding, finally turns around and decks Ed Pegram in the local bar for it. But the ultimate bit of revenge comes in the final scene of the film when David does something to give his father a bit of dignity in the eyes of the people of Hawthorne, Ed especially. The film’s big payoff is seeing the look on Ed’s face when, for just a moment, he thinks Woody may just have won that money after all.

Will Forte would not have been my first choice for such a pivotal role as David. I knew him primarily from Saturday Night Live and a handful of bad movies based on sketches from that show. He’s a talented improv performer, but I had never seen him playing in a serious drama before. Yet other talented comedians have turned in amazing dramatic performances, such as Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, Kristin Wiig, and Bill Hader. I would like to say that Will Forte nails this role, but that isn’t quite accurate. He’s serviceable. It’s not a bad performance, far from it. But it’s not a particularly nuanced performance either. Most of the time, he looks like a lost puppy, fighting back an emotional breakdown at every turn. David is a man who seems like he is empty inside, a good man struggling with acceptance from those around him and not finding it. Will comes close but doesn’t quite sell the emotion. Mostly he just looks stereotypically clinically depressed.

Nebraska is another wonderful film by a director who, in my opinion, has not made a bad film. Some will argue that Downsizing is a bad film, but I will fight them over that opinion. I have not intentionally seen every one of his films; I just happen to have seen them all and liked them all. The Oscars do too, apparently, as he is nominated as often as not since his debut in 1996. As yet, he has not won an Oscar for Best Picture or Director, but it seems only a matter of time before he makes a film that they simply cannot overlook. 

Academy Award Nominations:

Best Picture: Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa

Best Director: Alexander Payne

Best Actor: Bruce Dern

Best Supporting Actress: June Squibb

Best Original Screenplay: Bob Nelson

Best Cinematography: Phedon Papamichael

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Release Date: November 15, 2013

Running Time: 115 Minutes

Rated R

Starring: Bruce Dern, Will Forte, June Squibb, Stacy Keach, and Bob Odenkirk

Directed by: Alexander Payne