Review of Nebraska (2013) by Tsukasa A — 04 Jan 2015

A sweet, charming, quirkily funny movie.

From director Alexander Payne who gave us such gems as Sideways, About Schmidt, The Descendants and Election, this is a road movie with a difference. Explores many themes: heritage, home, family, memories, fulfillment and greed.

So many scenes that spark off memories of one's own life, or at least things that one can relate to.

Can be frustrating at times. There are points where you want to reach and slap a character or two, and periods where it does seem to drift. These periods are brief, fortunately, and tend to serve a purpose, ultimately.

The only negative aspect is the cinematography. Payne chose to film this in black & white. While I generally don't have a problem with B&W films - the lack of colour can help create a mood - here the B&W is unnecessary. Moreover, it is wasteful. We have the big skies and beautiful, endless Nebraskan vistas, just bursting to be seen in colour...and we see them in black & white. Plus the movie is ultimately an upbeat one, so the B&W isn't required.

Good performances all round. Bruce Dern and June Squibb are great as the mother and father, while Will Forte and Bob Odenkirk give solid performances as the sons. There's a good balance between the father's ditziness, the mother's nagging, the older brother's focus and the younger brother's rolling eyes-yet-caring-ness.

A must-see.