Nebraska!!!!

Nebraska.

The latest film from director Alexander Payne (The Descendants, About Schmidt) sees him cover the subject of an ageing man with onset dementia set on going to Lincoln, Nebraska to get his one million dollars. 

Woody (Bruce Dern) wanders the highways trying to walk to Nebraska but is always picked up by the Police, David (Will Forte) is Woody's son and receives countless phonecalls about his father being picked up at the side of the road. With his mother Kate (June Squibb) pretty much leaving him to it and saying "he never told me he wanted to be a millionaire" they have a ageing style marriage.

David soon decides to let his father have his way and he decides to drive him to Nebraska to show him that it is nothing but a scam. On their way there Woody has a fall and the pair detour to their old town in which they used to live, Hawthorne. While there they bump into and meet a whole bunch of people Woody knows, his old business partner, old friends, old flames of his past and of course his family who have stayed in Hawthorne. 

With the news of Woody winning a million dollars word gets around and soon enough they all start coming out of the woodwork asking for money. People saying that they're owed a certain ammount of money and then family members also asking for money in which they gave to Woody back when he was an alcoholic. 

Soon enough Kate arrives and becomes the wife she has always been, defending Woody and fighting his battles for him she confronts the family members and tells them where to go. Humiliated by the locals and his old friends and family David tries to convince his dad that it is a complete scam but he is having none of it. 

Arriving into Nebraska the pair finally learn if Woody has really won a million dollars and will he be able to drive back through Hawthorne with his head held high?.

The film for me is really impressive but also really funny in its own quirky way, the subject matter is simple yet allows for characters and situations to come through so easily. Situations with quick whip lines between family members and how family members interact after being apart for so long are covered in a funny way. Bruce Dern was made to play the role of Woody as he plays him with such ease, at times you feel like your watching a documentary of a real life situation and this film could really happen as well. June Squibb is perfect as the wife and mother Kate as she brings her own humour to the film but also is a perfect wife and mother defending her husband who you can see she puts up with all the time. 

The humour and comedy in the film is perfect, from long pauses and stupid glances at the dinner table to a scene where Woody and all his brothers are sat watching TV it's funny but so real and relevant today. The stupidity of family members who also get sucked into the scam has the "I told you so" moments for David. Shots of the vast landscape show how desolate and unpopulated the areas are in which they travel and also live and let you know the towns are small and everyone knows everyone. 

One theme I saw was acceptance, acceptance of each others situations and that at times you have to accept who your family is no matter what situation their in. Learning to see who your real family and friends are and realising what you had and what you have now as well. 

For me it's one of the best comedy's of the year and from a seasoned professional like Alexander Payne who we can say has made yet another great film that no doubt will be in many category's come award season.

10/10.