NEBRASKA

I've fallen embarrassingly behind on writing film reviews this year. I'll try to catch up.

NEBRASKA is a tough film. It's gotten a lot of awards attention, so much that there has been a bit of a backlash from people claiming it is too slow or too depressing. It is definitely a slowly paced film, but that's actually one of the things I like about it. It is a tough watch though as most of the characters do not have a lot of redeeming qualities.

Perhaps the oddest thing about the film is all the attention Bruce Dern is getting as Best Actor. He is not the lead character in the film. The lead is the through character played by Will Forte, who is quite good in the film. (He's known for comedy, so this film is a real departure for him. You might know him as Jenna's transvestite boyfriend on 30 ROCK or from numerous appearances on CONAN as their crazy version of Ted Turner.)

Bruce Dern is quite good but his role does not show a lot of range. There's a lot more required from the other characters in the film. I have to admit that I liked the film but I don't think it's the year's best, or even Alexander Payne's best work. A lot of the acting is very flat, as though he cast non-actors in the parts. I expected more of the film.

SPOILER!

My biggest problem was that I didn't understand why Will Forte's character cared about patching things up with his father. They never showed the father to have any positive characteristics. That, and it seemed quite a stretch that they would go on this road trip at all. But I suspended my disbelief for that.