Film Screening 1st April, 2014

Poster for Nebraska

Nebraska 

7:30 PM, 1st April, 2014

  • M
  • 115 mins
  • 2013
  • Alexander Payne
  • Bob Nelson
  • Bruce Dern, Will Forte, June Squibb, Stacy Keach

Nebraska is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east; Missouri to the southeast; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwest; and Wyoming to the west. Its capital is Lincoln, and its largest city is Omaha. Oh, hang on, this is supposed to be about the film Nebraska... Hmmm, well if nothing else hopefully you’ve learned something new today.

Nebraska is the latest film by Alexander Payne (About Schmidt, The Descendants) and quite possibly his finest film to date. It stars Bruce Dern as Woody Grant who falls for the age old winning a million dollar letter scam and wants to go to Lincoln, Nebraska to get the money. His family is sure it’s a hoax but eventually his son launches an impromptu road trip giving the two men one last chance to bond, clear the air and learn about the family’s history.

The film tells a very good story that is sentimental, but not sweet, and quite slow going but not tedious. From a technical standpoint, the best aspect is the cinematography which is just beautiful, with the choice to film in black-and-white being appropriate and effective. The casting of mainly character actors also really rounds out the story and draws you in. This film has received fantastic reviews from critics and us ordinary people alike so put this on your ‘films to see’ list… and give yourself an A+ for American geography.

Tamara Lee