Having finished my popcorn, I had no more excuse for staying in my seat. So I walked out after about 50 minutes of this exercise in conceptual vacuity. “Unwatchable” comes to mind as I ponder what aberration of judgment caused the Motion Picture Academy to nominate Nebraska for: Best Cinematography (visual tedium in black and white); Best Picture (they obviously needed one more title to round out the required ten nominees); Best Actor, Bruce Dern (for once, too smart for the part); Best Supporting Actress, June Squibb (reminiscent of those elder alarm commercials, i.e. “I’ve fallen down and I can’t get up); Best Directing, Alexander Payne (clearly a political payoff).
What were they thinking?
Bruce Dern is the centerpiece of this fuzzy road saga, playing an aging blue collar alkie headed to Nebraska to collect a sweepstakes prize. The acting is wretched, littered with cardboard comments and responses which are worsened by the lack of a believable script. Yes perhaps there are lots of losers in the vast stretches of American high plains country. But watching the squirm-making set pieces of “drama” in this vapid production I could only long for what it might have been in the hands of a David Lynch, or Quentin Tarentino, even Terence Malick. So tone deaf was the script to how people’s emotions might look, sound, and feel that I was embarrassed for Will Forte, playing Bruce Dern’s earnest, existentially clueless son. His character is given nothing to work with, no way to reflect all the years of disappointment, or even the underlying love his character might feel for the strung out and crusty old man.
Most of all—and I cannot believe I’m saying this—I felt sorry for Bruce Dern as the central character Woody Grant, an old drunk who believes (sort of) that a promotional ad has really awarded him a million dollars. Dern, for once, is clearly too smart and pliant an actor to be stuck in this card-board scenario. He’s been made-up to look scruffy and faded, but his alert eyes say otherwise. Here was an actor struggling to escape a shabby exercise in Filmmaking for Dummies.
Why it was made at all remains a mystery. But why it has been added to Oscar nominee rosters surely points to the dynastic politics of Hollywood insiders.
Being a Nebraska boy who grew up a stone’s throw from Omaha and has significantly traveled much of the state I was hooked from the beginning. If Payne has chosen the wrong “stilted” language and cardboard comments from his growing up there then he would have found other stilted language and cardboard from some other part of the state. If these characters do not talk and sound like my relatives then I don’t know who does. He “don’t” ((Nebraskanese) seem to have gotten it wrong. I wish you had stayed for the whole movie as it does start to gel.
However I do appreciate your comments and seem some truth in them and will keep them in mind next time I climb out of my Nebraska fog and see it again. I do wish you had said more about Payne who IMHO has a history of making good movies and why this one was a discredit to him.–Dan
I hate to admit my family is from Nebraska but that scene where the family sits around the TV watching football and the question of the Chevey Truck was absolutely right on the money regarding this social set. Christina, you need to have a beer in one of those Nebraska taverns and you will understand Red Amerrica and it is not Soviet.
Should be …Chevey Truck arises …
Finally got around to watching this film and could not disagree with you more. My wife and I thought it both well written, superbly acted and beautifully filmed. Alexander Payne is is one of our most gifted film makers and in my opinion the Academy’s recognition was well deserved.