Nebraska
2013 · Directed by Alexander Payne
Original language: English
- drama
- adventure
The story
An aging, booze-addled father takes a trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim what he believes to be a million-dollar sweepstakes prize.
What it’s like
Black-and-white digital photography gives this film its dry, washed-out look: wide, flat plains under big open skies, grey-brown small towns, faded storefronts and beige interiors that feel lived-in rather than styled. Alexander Payne holds his frames steady and often wide, letting characters sit in the empty space of a Midwestern landscape, with the camera mostly static and unhurried. Sound is sparse: wind across fields, the rattle of an old pickup on gravel, cheerful small-town chatter, and Mark Orton's gentle acoustic guitar score appearing only now and then. The vibe is wry, deadpan melancholy with a warm, low-key humour, the kind of film that suits a grey weekend afternoon or a long drive with someone you're not quite sure about. Its pace is slow and conversational, and its emotional arc follows a stubborn, confused older father and his restrained son slowly finding each other again on a road trip through the past. Intensity is low: there is some strong, frequent profanity, a few sharp family arguments, and tension around drinking and the father's dementia, but no real violence or gore and no sexual content. It is for people who want quiet, observant character drama with a laugh under the sadness.
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