Review: Nebraska (2013)

* * * *
Director: Alexander Payne
Starring: Bruce Dern, Will Forte

Although the plot of Nebraska is driven by the promise of a financial windfall, the film itself is really about the little things. It's about a having a new truck, getting a new air compressor in order to replace the one loaned to a friend 40 years earlier, and enjoying a moment of getting to "be somebody," somebody important, after enduring years of life kicking your ass. The victories to be found here are small, but they are victories nevertheless. Anchored by a great, less is more performance, and a solid, straight forward performance from an actor best known for broad comedy, Alexander Payne's latest film is a magnificent portrait of a man mentally slipping away, and the family struggling to cope.

Review: The Descendants (2011)

* * * 1/2
Director: Alexander Payne
Starring: George Clooney

Alexander Payne is an expert at finding comedy in unlikely places. His debut feature, Citizen Ruth, was about the battle over the legality of abortion, About Schmidt was about a recent widower and retiree who fears that life is meaningless and futile, Sideways is about a failed and alcoholic writer, and his masterpiece Election is about the epic battle between a frustrated high school teacher and a manipulative, over-achieving student. His latest, The Descendants is about, amongst other things, the process of grief and like his previous films mixes comedy and drama so seamlessly that he makes it look deceptively easy.