Screened Out – Nebraska

[five-star-rating]Bruce Dern, Will Forte, Stacy Keach, Bob Odenkirk, June Squibb[/five-star-rating]

From personal experience, I can tell you that midwestern people refer to others as “salt of the earth” It can mean that these are simple, reliable folks remarkable for their common values and common sense. If delivered correctly, it can also be a veiled insult, subtly denoting a certain lack of sophistication and education.

In the sweet, quiet little comedy Nebraska, Bruce Dern is salt of the earth in every respect and definition. He’s an old, gullible alcoholic with dementia. He gets a letter from a magazine clearinghouse saying he won 1 million dollars. He tries everything he can to get from his home in Billings, Montana, to Lincoln, Nebraska, to claim his prize. When he finally secures his largesse, he plans to buy a brand spanking new pickup, which he cannot drive, since his license was rescinded and an air compressor.

Something encourages his son Will Forte (of Saturday Night Live fame) to stuff his old man into the car and drive him to Lincoln. Maybe it’s that the son never knew his father well; maybe that the son really has nothing better to do in Billings.

Director Alexander Payne has made a career by focusing on quirky characters in films like Election, About Schmidt, and Sideways. Here, he has cinematographer Phedon Papamichael (The Descendants, Walk the Line) shoot everything in stark black and white, showing the snow-blown bleakness of winter on the American plains. The score by Mark Orton (The Good Girl) is also decidedly folksy and desolate, like the barren Nebraska landscape.

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Payne also uncovers some small, unusual performances from Dern, Forte, and June Squibb (About Schmidt), who play’s Dern’s mouthy, put-upon wife. This isn’t a showy comedy; in fact, it’s stark and subtle, and yet each performance, each nuance is prosaic and delightful. Dern won the Palm D’Or at Cannes for his work here, and he, Forte, and Squibb have all been gathering some award buzz. Dern shows an addled innocence that’s both inspiring and heart breaking; his mental decline is only the most recent excuse for his lack of attention to his family’s needs. Forte’s face is etched in resigned disappointment, and yet Nebraska’s black-and-white photography also shows the hopeful boy he once was, the child seeking to impress and understand his eternally drunk dad.

Nebraska isn’t for everyone. It’s very understated and small; its comedy isn’t obviously telegraphed to the audience. Yet, in this austerity is a quiet love that supports the characters through their challenges – Forte’s love for his dad, Payne’s love for his film. So, even though these goofy, simple folks may not be bright or sophisticated, they are still worth our attention and respect.