Let me start my review by admitting that I was caught off guard by the fact that the whole movie was shot in Black and White. Why didn't I know that? Good question - and I don't know the answer. I was very aware of the b&w element throughout the whole movie. I was never able to forget about it. I guess I am not used to watching things in b&w?! The choice to film in black & white was made by Director Alexander Payne. According to the Wikipedia article (yes, I use Wikipedia!), Payne wanted an "iconic, archetypal look" for the picture. Cinematographer Phedon Papamichael wanted to use "the poetic power of the black and white in combination with these landscapes..." which are a huge and important part of the movie. Distributor Paramount Vantage did not want the film done in b&w, so it was also filmed in color, but the director hopes no one sees it.
In this photo we have Will Forte playing son David Grant at the left, and then the leading character of Woody Grant played by Bruce Dern. In the background is the Grant homestead - a house built by Woody's father, where he and all his siblings grew up. In this scene, the family has just come from visiting it in its state of abandonment.
The basic story is that Woody has a "letter" which is one of those fancy certificates from Publisher's Clearing House saying "You've Won A Million Dollars" - complete with the person's name. The movie never makes direct reference to "Publisher's Clearing House", but anyone who has ever received the solicitation would recognize the certificate. In the movie it is just referred to as "the sweepstakes" or "the contest". In spite of being told repeatedly by everyone he knows that this certificate isn't real and doesn't mean he's won anything, he is convinced it is real. He's also convinced that he has to get to the office in Lincoln, Nebraska, to claim his winnings. He starts off on his own several times - walking because he can't drive anymore - and keeps getting picked up and taken home. Finally his son David agrees to take him on the 850 mile quest. The rest of the movie is about their journey. It is quite an Odyssey with several interesting "stories" along the way.
The other major performer in the movie is Woody's wife, Kate, played by veteran actress June Squibb.
This woman is absolutely ADORABLE! She is perfect in the role - amazingly believable! June was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for an Academy Award, and many thought she would win because she'd done a lot of acting over decades. She was actually nominated for this role 14 times, and she won in 9 different arenas, but alas, not the Oscars.
There is a lot of information on the internet about this movie. Here is a link to someone's blog who has provided a map of the route that Woody and David take from Billings, Montana, to Lincoln, Nebraska.
On the journey, the travelers stop in Hawthorne, Nebraska, which is the hometown of Woody and Kate and where both sons were born. It turns out there isn't really a "Hawthorne" in Nebraska. The movie was filmed on location in Plainview, Nebraska instead. Most of the places in the movie - taverns, stores, houses, and even the local newspaper office - were real, but in some cases the signage was changed to fit the movie. I really liked that about this movie. I liked knowing the places were real and not just created on a backlot for this movie.
This photo is from one of the funniest scenes in the movie. All of Woody's brothers and their families have gathered in Hawthorne for a family reunion - sort of in Woody's honor. Here the men are all gathered in the living room watching football on TV while the women are in the kitchen making dinner. The funniest part of this is that no one in the room talks. Here are these men who haven't seen each other for years, and they don't talk! It is so real it is scary! (Of course, the women in the kitchen are all gossiping about other people!)
Another thing I liked about this movie is that all the dialogue and action seemed very real. I felt it really depicted the very slow, sad lives of real people in that part of the country. Several people who left comments on the Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB.com) said they were from Nebraska and that it all felt very real to them as well, even down to some of the comments from characters with reference to how far people had to drive and how long it took them. Evidently this is quite a topic of conversation for people who live in the middle of nowhere.
I'm not big on spoilers in my blog reviews, but I will give away 1 thing - Woody doesn't die in the movie. I say that because there were several times when I thought he was going to die and that was going to be the end of the movie. Well, you can relax as you watch and know that he doesn't die. That's the only spoiler I'm going to give you though. There are some funny scenes as this journey progresses. There are also some poignant conversations about Woody's mental health.
I will warn you: if you crave action in movies, this is not the movie for you. It is an excellent character study and very well-acted by everyone in it. That, I think, is it's big attraction. You will also get to see more of The Great Plains - albeit in black & white - than you could ever hope to see in less than 2 hours. I give this movie 2 thumbs up, but I will add, "don't watch it when you're sleepy!"
Thanks for reading! If you've seen the movie, I'd love to hear your take on it as well!
:)Amy
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