How do you define the essence of a man
who's no longer here? No longer here in a mental sense, that is.
Alexander Payne and veteran character actor Bruce Dern venture to do
just that in Nebraska. As a character study about a somewhat
tragic figure nearing the end of life's journey, it is rife with
fascinating nuance, although not without expense to the story it
tells on the surface.
Woody Grant (Dern) is a millionaire. Or
so he believes. The letter he received in the mail clearly tells him
that he's a “winner”, and failing to recognize the blatant scam,
he sets out on foot from his home in Billings, Montana to Lincoln,
Nebraska to claim his million dollars in person. Surely, any
reasonable kin would agree that the time has come to put Woody in a
home, but his son David (Will Forte) has other thoughts. Much to the
chagrin of his harried mother (June Squibb) and his older brother
(Bob Odenkirk), David plays along with his dad's delusion, agreeing
to drive the stubborn codger to Lincoln until Woody accepts the
reality of his quest. Stopping over in Woody's hometown – the
depressed community of Hawthorne – gives some old family and
friends a chance to catch up, but word about his money luck starts to
get out of hand.
