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Business News/ Mint-lounge / Features/  Film Review | Nebraska
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Film Review | Nebraska

Alexander Payne's deeply moving American shuffle

A still from ‘Nebraska’Premium
A still from ‘Nebraska’

Like Roman Polanski’s Chinatown and Terry Gilliam’s Brazil, Alexander Payne’s Nebraska is about somewhere and everywhere. It’s set in a specific landscape of geographical and emotional detritus that is identifiably the American Midwest, but its frayed tapestry of dysfunctional relationships, professional disappointments and faded hope could be set down just about anywhere on the planet.

The title refers to the Midwestern American state where a lottery prize of a million dollars awaits its rightful claimant as well as to the state of mind of a bilious former alcoholic with a tangle of silver hair, false teeth, and a limp. Convinced that he has swept the sweepstakes, Woody (American veteran Bruce Dern) has been driving his long-suffering wife Kate (June Squibb) and his sons David (Will Forte) and Ross (Bob Odenkirk) up the wall by attempting to shuffle to Nebraska all by himself. A family reunion of sorts ensues when David drives his father to Nebraska and stops by at Woody’s hometown Hawthorne. Forgotten memories are excavated and old grudges crawl out into the open, many of them courtesy the hilariously acerbic and no-nonsense Kate, as the family reassesses the worth of its shambolic patriarch.

Dern justifiably won a Best Actor prize at the Cannes Film Festival for his deeply affecting portrayal of a man whose mind and temperament have been laid waste by alcohol, but Bob Nelson’s screenplay gives all the mostly silver-haired supporting cast enough opportunities to showcase their talents. Forte, mostly known for his television work, brings a moving ruefulness to his character, while Squibb, who previously appeared in Payne’s About Schmidt, delivers her caustic remarks with the glee of a child in a candy shop.

It’s beautifully acted and beautiful-looking too. Phedon Papamichael’s textured black and white cinematography provides an apt visual metaphor for the movie’s sharp approach towards nostalgia and honesty. Payne balances the ordinary with the ornery. He retains his trademark satirical tone towards the peculiarities of the average American family but also leavens his tendency towards sentimentality with an astutely judged coda that restores Woody some of his lost dignity. Hawthorne’s insular-minded, plain-speaking denizens are living proof of why Woody fled in the first place, but their warmth and endearing eccentricities help Woody towards closure. In a movie of startling images, skilfully orchestrated interactions and tonally perfect conversations, the most revealing moment is of Woody’s extended clan bonding in silence in front of a television set. Words tickle, hurt and illuminate in Payne’s films, but on this occasion, wordlessness works just fine.

Nebraska released in theatres on Friday.

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Published: 28 Feb 2014, 01:49 PM IST
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