Nebraska (Alexander payne, 2013): USA

Reviewed by Robin Johansson at the AFI Film Festival, Hollywood.

Being one of the bigger movies production wise, put a lot of expectations on Nebraska (directed by Alexander Payne) and it certainly lives them up. Bruce Dern, starring in Django Unchained and The Cowboys with John Wayne, stands for the best acting performance in this movie, without casting a big shadow on the other actors. His smart lines and the developing relationship between him and his son David Grant (played by Will Forte) is genius

This movie is all in black and white, which is a great way to portray the uneventful and tedious life of the middle aged David Grant and his family. His parents, Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) and Kate Grant (June Squibb) are growing old and Woody thinks that he won a million dollars on a Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize, which he is obsessed of claiming in Lincoln Nebraska. Kate is getting tired of taking care of Woody and wants to put him in a home, but her son David wants to make the best of the time they have left and decides to drive him to his family and claim the million dollar prize.

Along the movie you learn to know Woody more and the bitter and confused old man becomes something much like your own father. You start to ask yourself questions, such as “Do I really know who my father was?” and will I ever know? This becomes relevant for me living far away from my parents in Sweden. It makes you think about your family relations and if you have spent enough time with them or not.

Nebraska is also most of the time very funny. The acting and the well-developed characters makes this movie worth your time. Woody and his wife Kate are two funny characters. They make such an odd couple and the exchanging of lines is smart and well delivered.

Nebraska was a great experience for me and I am confident that it will entertain anyone who decides to watch it.