Nebraska

Alexander Payne has clearly softened with age.  His first two features, "Citizen Ruth" and "Election," were almost gleefully cynical affairs.  His last two films, "Sideways" and "The Descendants," were much more humane, offering some hope for his irascible heroes.  "Nebraska," his latest, splits the difference, featuring both the petty squabbles of a small-town community and the poignancy of a man in the twilight of life.  It offers both humor and heart.

The heart of the film is Woody, a retired electrician.  The best moments in "Nebraska" happen when Woody tersely reflects on his life.  He's old enough to have plenty of regrets, but wise enough to know that they don't amount to much.  When his son asks him if he wished he had been a farmer, he looks wistful and says, "I don't know.  Doesn't matter."

Still, Woody can't quite let go of his dreams.  Battling dementia, he's convinced that he's won a million dollars via a junk mail scam.  He's determined to get from Montana to Nebraska to collect his prize even though he can't drive.  By the third time he tried to walk there, I had a lump in my throat.

A film with nothing but this material would leave the audience in wrist-slitting mode.  As usual, though, Payne can ably lighten the mood.  Woody's wife is the primary comic engine here, getting off lots of cracks at family and friends--particularly those who think Woody's prize is real and want some of the action.

The last piece of the puzzle is the most conventional: Woody's son David starts learning more about his father.  Naturally, it turns out that his gruff dad is a much nicer guy than he let on.  But these scenes are so low-key that they don't feel forced or manipulative.

That's the thing about Payne: he works with stories fraught with emotion without turning them into melodramas.  (Although "The Descendants" comes awfully close.)  Often when I watch a film, I start worrying that the story is going to hit false notes to play on the audience's sympathy or desire for a feel-good ending.  I was never worried about that during "Nebraska," and once again Payne validated my faith.