We’re neck deep in awards season now, with the majority of contenders already mounting campaigns and just a few stragglers (come on, Marty, do keep up) left to appear on screens. Alexander Payne’s latest, Nebraska, may not have the real-life hook of some or the razzle-dazzle of others, but this quiet, sweet, dryly funny film is being mentioned as a likely candidate for nominations. A new featurette with the cast talking about it is below.
Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) is an old man with strong opinions and a failing memory. Discovered walking along a highway, he’s taken in by a cop, picked up by his son David (Will Forte) and returned to his frustrated wife Katie (June Squibb). At his parents' home, David learns that Woody thinks he has won a million dollars in a Nebraska lottery and was going to state capital Lincoln to claim his winnings. David tries to persuade Woody that it's just a marketing scam, but Woody won't have it, so after his father makes several failed attempts to bolt, David agrees to drive him there.
What begins as a road movie takes a sharp turn when Woody and David break the trip with relatives in the town of Hawthorne, where Woody and Katie met in their youth. Here, the Grant family encounter the ghosts of the past, not to mention the present, as the locals get wind of Woody's good fortune and try to cash in, not realising it is all a terrible misunderstanding.
Dern and co (including Bob Odenkirk as Forte’s brother Ross) clearly enjoyed their time making the film and are proud of the result. We liked what we saw when Nebraska played at Cannes and it’ll be out in cinemas on December 6.