Nebraska

It’s rare that Hollywood gifts us with such a masterful and poignant story that accompanies the subdued beauty of “Nebraska.”

It’s the story of Montana resident Woody Grant, played perfectly by Bruce Dern, an old man who receives a flyer in the mail from a publishing company notifying him that he just won $1 million.

Senile and slightly ornery, Woody doesn’t believe in the postal system and doesn’t have the bearings to drive to Lincoln, Nebraska to collect what he believes to be his winnings.

So he starts walking.

His adult son, played by Will Forte, reluctantly decides to drive his father to Nebraska, to the dismay of his mother and Woody’s wife, played by a wonderful June Squibb.

Woody’s son knows that he’s just playing along, since it’s all a scam.

In his hometown, Woody encounters family and old friends who all want a piece of his newly found fortune, disbelieving it’s not real. Fights ensue, until a powerful climax in which Woody reveals to his son that all he really wanted the money for was to be able to leave him and his brother something when he died.

Spoilers aside, I can tell you that the movie has an ending as quietly powerful and heartwarming as the rest of the film.

It’s so reassuring to know that the film industry can still produce films as high quality as “Nebraska.” Sure, “American Hustle” and “The Wolf of Wall Street” are incredible movies, but they’re loud. Their artistic expression is in your face at 150 miles per hour.

If I had to express one tiny qualm with “Nebraska”, it would be in some of the casting choices. Casting Forte in such a big role is definitely questionable. It takes a big chunk of time to warm up to him as a serious actor.

He’s good enough, but that role could have been casted better.

Also, a couple of the sub-supporting roles are acted horrendously. The roles are so small that it doesn’t take away from the piece as a whole, but they are distracting.

“Nebraska,” presented in black and white, is simple and quiet storytelling of the highest quality. With no discernible visual effects, crazy cinematography or mountain-moving orchestration, the film’s barebones presentation reflects perfectly the life of the old man in middle-of-nowhere America.

“Nebraska” succeeds because it has a mostly brilliant cast, including an absolutely stunning Bruce Dern in a role that’s unfathomably human and real, acted with expertise and grace.

Spot-on directing choices, moments of true-to-life hilarity and a backdrop of a breathtaking rural America make for a masterpiece.

Overall, “Nebraska” is a film that deserves its spot on top ten lists of the year of every respectable film connoisseur. It’s damn good.

You probably didn’t see and never will see a trailer for it, and it’s not what’s hip and cool in theaters these days, but it’s worth watching. More than once.