Nebraska is a Heartfelt Journey from Director Alexander Payne, about Father and Son, and Getting On in Age

Nebraska (4 1/2 out of 5 Stars)

Directed by: Alexander Payne (Election, Sideways, The Descendants)

Written by: Bob Nelson

Starring Bruce Dern, Will Forte, Bob Odenkirk, and June Squibb

Alexander Payne films a a distinct feeling to them, yet each film has its own personality.  His films take situations from everyday life, and blends the emotional, and hilarious moments within each.  Throughout each of films Payne has focused on things like the demise of marriage, the death of a spouse, or even a high school student body election, and made them mini journeys through the capsule in the lives of his characters.  Nebraska may be one of his most personal journeys to date.

As he slips into a quiet dementia Woody Grant (Dern) wanders down the road on a journey toward claiming his million dollar prize.  Woody received a letter in the mail from something similar to the Publishers Clearing House stating he won a million dollars.  To claim his prize Woody needs to head back to his home state of Nebraska, but his family is losing patience, and can't understand his drive to claim money which he has not won.  Woody's son David (Forte) begrudgingly agrees to take his dad on a trip to Lincoln, because like his father he has a dreamers mentality.  Woody and David begin a trip to Hawthorne, the place Woody was born to reconnect with family.

Payne's direction with this film, and Woody's story is some of the precise film making I have ever seen. Payne direction captures each wobbly sign, to the light flickering on the sign at the local tavern.  Payne worked with cinematographer Phedon Pappamichael, capturing some of the best black and white cinematography I have seen.  While I am almost always critical of modern black and white cinematography there is something haunting about the way Nebraska's landscape is captured.  Payne has worked with Pappamichael on two other films Sideways, and The Descendants.  This films cinematography proves these two are a dynamic duo with visuals.  

Payne is collaborating with screen writer Bob Nelson, for the first time, but the script feels like Payne's most personal film in years.  The story of father and sons, husband and wife, and family as everyone grows old, moves away, and reaches a different point in their life.  The film has some of the funniest moments in any of his films, the one liners about the town, and family gossip from wife and mother Kate Grant (Squibb), had me in stitches.  Kate is the funny one; she has put up with her husband for a long time, but she also loves and cares for him.  Squibb is brilliant in this role.

There should be no surprise that Payne has gotten strong performances from his ensemble.Payne hits every emotional mark with his actors, capturing the silent brilliance, letting the actor tell the story through actions rather than just through words.  Payne gets great work from his actors, and while Squibb is a true standout, Forte and Dern are a great duo.

Who knew Will Forte had this in him, after his years on Saturday Night Live?  As David learns more and more about his father you get to see some of the most beautiful moments about a son, finally getting to know, and understand his father's journey.  From the moment David enters the Hawthorne paper David gradually allows himself to escape into Woody's world living in the dream of his father becoming a millionaire.  Forte is a revelation in this film, and deserves more praise than he has received.

Bruce Dern tones himself down, and gives one hell of a performance.  My first interaction with him as an actor was in the television series Big Love.  Dern was obnoxious and overbearing, a trait with which he pigeon holed the same way Nicholson and DeNiro have been over the years.  Yet like with Nicholson in About Schmidt Payne creates, and lets Dern shine in one of the best performances of the year.  Woody is a cranky old man, but if you only see this, and nothing more you are missing the nuances to his performance.  Woody is a proud man, and you can see this even when he asks David to duck down while he is driving the truck.  Woody may not speak much, but Dern lets his face do all the talking, and as he loses himself you see the evolution of a man.

My only minor complaint with the film is that the film does feel long towards the end, and while the journey is beautiful there were moments in the film, which could have been cut.  In the end the film is a satisfying experience, which chronicles the journey of humanity as one man returns to a place he does not recognize.  The journey of the family within this film makes this one heartfelt, emotional, and funny journey that should not be missed.

Academy Awards Best Picture Revisited: Sideways (2004)

Today I watched another film from one of the directors in contention for the Best Director prize this year.  I realized today I watched David Fincher's 2008 film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; he has The Girl  with the Dragon Tattoo this year. In 2007 Jason Reitman directed the crowd pleaser Juno and this year he has the film Young Adult. Then I watched 2006's The Departed from director Martin Scorsese; Scorsese directed Hugo this year.  Finally this weekend came the film Sideways directed by Alexander Payne, who directed The Descendants this year.

Four different, yet brilliant directors.  Only two directors have a chance this year at being nominated and winning, Martin Scorsese and the director of Sideways, Alexander Payne.  Payne's first bigger film came in 1996, Citizen Ruth.  While Ruth put Payne on the map somewhat, it was his 1999 film Election that helped add fuel to his career.  Election is the dark tale of a teacher who tries to prevent his know it all student from becoming student body President.  This film put Reese Witherspoon on the map.  Three years later Payne collaborated with one of the greatest living actors Jack Nicholson in the dark comedy About Schmidt.  Payne's films are known for their mixed tones, they blend comedy and drama well.  In 2005 Payne created one of his strongest films, Sideways (more on that in a few).  Six years later Payne released the film The Descendants, this is is weakest work, but still is a solid film.  Payne direction style is big on character and letting his written word do the talking.  Payne has written for all of these films, and the writing of these films is some of the strongest I have seen in years.

Sideways focuses on a loser high school English teacher, and failed novelist named Miles (Paul Giamatti) who is accompanying his best friend Jack (Thomas Haden Church) on a brief vacation before Jack gets married.  The film centers around Miles and his love for wine, and how wine has such an interesting life.  Miles meets up with a woman he has seen before named Maya (Virginia Madsen) and they connect while Jack tries to escape his pre marital status with Stephanie (Sandra Oh). The ensemble works together flawlessly.  Together these actors provide strength and depth to Payne's strong script.  This film and the ensemble provided an interesting addition to the awards season.

Sideways was nominated for 5 Academy Awards.  Paul Giamatti who should have won the Best Actor award was snubbed of a nomination, this is the worst snub of the 2000s.  The films nominations included, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress (Virginia Madsen), Best Supporting Actor (Thomas Haden Church), Best Direction, and of course Best Picture.

2004's five nominees for Best Picture were The Aviator, Finding Neverland, Million Dollar Baby, Ray, and of course Sideways.  Of the actual nominees there were only three serious contenders.  Finding Neverland, the tale of JM Barrie writing Peter Pan, never had a chance.  Ray was seen as a vehicle for Jamie Foxx, and recognition for him was the recognition the film would receive.  Sideways was the critical favorite and won the ensemble award at SAG.  The Aviator was Martin Scorsese's most optimal chance to finally win, and it took home Best Drama at the Globes and the BAFTA award for Best Film. Then there was Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby.  Baby did not come out of nowhere but in a divided field came in to scoop up the honor of being named the Best Picture.  Eastwood's direction was being honored regularly by both the the Director's Guild and the Globes, and Hilary Swank was winning numerous awards, so the film came along for the ride.  Sideways peaked to early, and was not as accessible so it got the consolation prize, Best Adapted Screenplay.

What should have won Best Picture this year?  The film that should have won is the film that inspired the title for this blog, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Michel Gondry's film is one of the best films of all time, but had to settle for only a few nominations, and just one win in the Original Screenplay category.  I will not go on a rant about my favorite film, but I will say that this Best Picture category was one of the most boring in years.  Of the nominated films, the strongest film is Sideways, but there were much better films not nominated.  The Aviator was one of Scorsese's weaker films. Ray and Finding Neverland would have barely made my top 20 list.  2004's nominees should have been Before Sunset, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Incredibles, Sideways, and I go back and forth on this, but the winner Million Dollar Baby.

I hate to say it but 2004 and 2005 had a couple of my favorite films of the decade, but there were both incredibly weak years.  I am glad a small film like Sideways fought through the bloated typical Academy Award fare to make it into the race and be deemed one of the Best Picture nominees this year.

The Descendants Ascends to be a Solidly Quirky Film

The Descendants (4 out of 5 stars)

Directed by: Alexander Payne (Election, About Schmidt, Sideways)

Written by:Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash

Starring: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, and Amara Miller

Seven years ago was the last time Alexander Payne wrote and directed another film.  Payne's last film was the brilliant Sideways, which chronicled a wine connoisseur's experiences in love, and life.  Payne has had a great repertoire of films.  The first Payne film I saw was 1999's Election (potentially his best) then there was About Schmidt in 2002, and my personal favorite his last film Sideways (2004).  The Descendants ranks as my least favorite Payne but this is also some pretty solid film making.

The Descendants follows Matt King (George Clooney) who is trying to bring his family together while his wife lays in a hospital bed in a coma after a tragic boating accident.  Matt is working to come to grips with no longer being "the back up parent" and helping his children cope with their mother's situation.  Matt also has to deal with his extended family and a piece of land they own.  Matt and his family are descendants of Hawaiian royalty and white ancestors.  Matt is the trust and has sole control over what to do with the land; his trust will expire in seven years because of the law.  Back to the story I actually cared more about. As Matt's wife's condition worsens he brings his daughter Alex (Shailene Woodley) home to tell her his mom is not going to make it, and then she tells Matt her mom was cheating on him.

The strongest part of this film for me was George Clooney's performance.  I thought he played against type well, and gave one of his best performances.  My favorite scene was when he walked into his wife's room and cursed at her while she was laying there for making his life so hard.  Then when he later starts to cry as he realizes even though he has experienced so much pain.  Shailene Woodley who plays Matt's daughter Alex is pretty strong in this film.  I have seen her television show The Secret Life of the American Teenager, and to see this performance come from her proves that strong material and direction matter!  Judy Greer who always plays wonderful small roles shines in one the last scenes of the film, I wish she was in the film more.

Payne's direction and the screenplay are solid.  I did not care for storyline (as much) that gave the film its title.  As Matt needs to decide what to do with his land I often felt a little displaced from that story.  The stronger emotional context came from watching this family deal with their own imperfections while they watched someone slip out of their life.  Payne's strength is often dark humor, and while this film had some laughs the strength was the strong dramatic moments.  While the dark humor was there and was often funny with Matt's youngest daughter acting out in the beginning it was sometimes off putting like Alex's friend Sid laughing at her grandmother's alzheimer's.

Even with a more awkward voice over from Matt, the beginning of the film starts with him talking about how outsiders glamorize Hawaii, meanwhile people who live their still have problems.  The direction and screenplay do a good job highlighting both the beauty and troubles that exist within this paradise.