Page 18 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • December 18, 2013 Dern turns in Oscar-worthy performance in ‘Nebraska’ by Dennis Seuling “Nebraska” is the kind of film that allows an actor to show aspects of his talent that might never before been fully or even adequately tapped. Bruce Dern has been in a couple of Alfred Hitchcock films, had his hand chopped off in “Hugh, Hush Sweet Charlotte,” attempted to pilot an explosives-filled dirigible into the Super Bowl in “Black Sunday,” and appeared as countless bad guys throughout a career that dates back to 1960. At last, in “Nebraska,” he has a role that is garnering considerable attention and predictions of an Oscar nomination. Woody Grant (Dern) is an elderly alcoholic who has received one of those junk mail sweepstakes notices in the mail. Convinced he is actually the winner of a mil- lion dollars, he sets out on foot from his home in Bill- ings, Montana to Lincoln, Nebraska to claim his prize. Everyone tries to explain that the letter is worthless, but Woody, who hasn’t much to show for all his years, will not be deterred from his quest. Like Don Quixote, he is accompanied by his Sancho Panza, his younger son David (Will Forte), as he sets out to tilt at his own windmills. Because Woody isn’t much for talking, Dern’s per- formance is all the more remarkable. His looks and body language are so expressive that viewers always know just what is going through his mind. Woody is not the type to voice disappointment or dissatisfaction, but his hunched shoulders, sad eyes, and lumbering walk tell all. Had Dern taken on similar kinds of roles in the past, Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) and son David (Will Forte) take an unusual road trip in ‘Nebraska.’ the performance would have been less striking, but what he does with Woody is tantamount to an extra in “Rigo- letto” suddenly stepping into the title role and wowing the audience. Forte, known primarily for his sketch comedy as a member of the “Saturday Night Live” ensemble, is sympathetic as the grown son who has mixed feelings toward his father. With restraint and subtlety, Forte shows David’s transition from a son who has written off his father as a drunken loser to a person who, for the first time, gains insight into Woody’s past, family, and once-upon-a-time aspirations. Woody was never the best father. He drank too much and never seemed to know how to show affection. Now, David is the only one in the family to see how important Woody’s mission is to him. When his initial attempts to reason with his father fail, David agrees to drive Woody to Lincoln mostly to look after his welfare and to give his mother a break. Woody’s wife, Kate (June Squibb), who has been married to him for decades, is resentful of his long- time alcohol dependence and short of patience with his encroaching dementia and stubbornness. Unlike Woody, she speaks her mind candidly, often hurtfully, though Woody seems to have created an inner ability to filter out her constant complaints and criticisms. Director Alexander Payne (“The Descendants,” “Sideways”) shot “Nebraska” in black and white pri- marily to give the Midwestern locations a dullness and starkness that color could never capture. The landscapes are endless stretches of nothingness, flat and unrelieved by anything but cornfields and the occasional low build- ing. The look of the movie is similar to the 1950s small- town Texas of Peter Bogdanovich’s “The Last Picture Show.” Payne’s pace is slow, and he holds his camera on his subjects longer than is the norm. These extra few seconds allow viewers to fully grasp what is going through char- acters’ minds. He also lightens the mood periodically, particularly with Squibb’s outrageous one-liners and the portrayals of Woody’s extended family members. Rated R, “Nebraska” is an enjoyable look at a world that seems simultaneously familiar and odd. Director Payne has established characters whose traits and pecu- liarities remind us of people we know, yet he manages to make them seem like vestiges of a bygone era.