Nebraska

3 1/2 out of 4 Stars

Nebraska is a dark, yet heartfelt, comedy about the conflicts of aging and father-son relationships. Directed by Alexander Payne (About Schmidt, Sideways), the film stars Bruce Dern as Woody Grant, a beer-swigging octogenarian on the edge of dementia and deafness who tries to go from Montana to Nebraska to claim a million-dollar prize, which he thinks is real. After Woody's multiple attempts of trying to walk to Nebraska and wandering away from his nagging wife (Jane Squibb), Woody's son, David (Will Forte), drives him to Nebraska to claim his prize. Along the way to Nebraska, David gets to know the father he never really knew apart from his alcoholism.

Bruce Dern has been on screen for almost fifty years and has delivered memorable performances in films as diverse as Hitchcock's Marnie, Hal Ashby's Coming Home, and Patty Jenkins' Monster. Dern's portrayal of Woody Grant is, without a doubt, one of his finest performances in the last 35 years. His performance is not as extroverted and intense as his previous roles, but he portrays Grant in the same fashion as he did when he played Jason Staebler in The King of Marvin Gardens; a man with big dreams that break away from rationality and reality. Funny and moving, Dern's performance will leave you in tears.

Will Forte gives a stunning performance as David Grant. Known for his hilarious shtick on Saturday Night Live, Forte forgoes the extroverted comedic side and successfully manages to deliver a dramatic performance that delivers subtle laughs, but with so much heart and warmth. Jane Squibb is amazing and hilarious as Kate, Woody's long-suffering wife, who tries to look after him as he slowly fades from reality. Squibb, who is usually underused in films like About Schmidt and Scent of a Woman, manages to give a towering performance with so much spry and humor.

Among other members of the superb cast, Bob Odenkirk, reeling from the success as the corrupt Saul Goodman on Breaking Bad, adds to the humor as David's older brother with an ego the size of a Midwestern corn field. Also, Stacy Keach oozes with snake-like charm and greed as Ed, Woody's former business partner, who wants a piece of Woody's prize money like the rest of Woody's relatives.

Alexander Payne is no stranger in looking at dysfunctional families with humor and poignancy in films like About Schmidt and The Decemberists. Payne succeeds in crafting Bob Nelson's story into a riveting yarn about the follies of aging and the flaws of the American Dream. Payne beautifully filmed Nebraska in black and white to encapsulate the sense of loneliness Woody and Dave share, as well as the starkness of small-town America as Bogdonovich did in The Last Picture Show. Some may think the revival of black and white films is pretentious, but I beg to differ. With an incredible cast under the command of Alexander Payne, Nebraska is a riveting and moving film.

12 Years A Slave

4 out of 4 Stars

There are two parts of life; surviving and living. For Solomon Northup, he had experienced both parts of life with immense pain and pride, which is expressed in Steve McQueen’s new film, 12 Years a Slave. From 1841 to 1853, Northup witnessed hell incarnate as a slave in the Antebellum South. Based on Northup’s memoir, the one-time father, intellectual and resident of Saratoga Springs, New York was sold into the slave trade through two charlatans posing as entertainers requesting Northup’s talents on the violin.                                                                                                                                                                                          

Solomon’s life of respect and independence ends when he is chained up and sold under the name of Platt into the hands of two plantation owners, one soft and one sadistic. Under the control of the somewhat benevolent Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch), Solomon’s work is praised until his backwoods and moronic lackey (Paul Dano) tries to murder Solomon. As a result, he is shipped off to work for the masochistic Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender) and his vindictive wife (Sarah Paulson). The Epps’ unflinching violence inflicted upon Solomon and his fellow captors makes your stomach churn until the final act of the film occurs leaving you holding back tears of sorrow and joy.                                                             
        
In the past five years, Steve McQueen burst onto the film scene with his chilling portrait of the Irish hunger strikes in Hunger and his intense look at sex addiction in Shame. With only a few films under his belt, McQueen has managed to capture the energy and rhythm of the human condition with the eye of a painter. As 12 Years a Slave is his third film, it is proof positive that he is one of the most revered and phenomenal filmmakers of the last decade as Paul Thomas Anderson was a decade ago. Beyond the intense visuals of violence that mirror that of Pasolini’s Salo-minus the body mutilation and coprophagia- the imagery of the plantations and South are as vibrant as a Gainsborough painting, which emphasize the beauty and evil of the world. Next to McQueen’s direction, his longtime cinematographer Sean Bobbitt captures the pathos of pre-Civil War South as John Toll captured the beauty and violence in Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line. Adding emphasis to the majestic quality of the film and its subject matter is Hans Zimmer’s experimental score that pales in comparison to his work on his previous film soundtracks.                         
                                                                                                                                                    
Chiwetel Ejiofor gives an astonishing and mesmerizing performance as Solomon Northup. The pain he endures is unbearable to watch, but his quest for optimism and freedom leaves you cheering for him from the beginning to the end. Michael Fassbender gives an over-the-top and sadistic performance as Epps. His obsession with power through an intense sexual relationship with one of his slaves and violent outbursts mirror Sean Penn’s performance in Casualties of War. Lupita Nyong’o’s performance as Epps’ forced mistress is harrowing as she endures a gauntlet of pain as shown in an unforgettable scene involving a whipping post.                                           
                                                                                                                   
 For the brief time they are on screen Paul Dano, Benedict Cumberbatch and Brad Pitt manage to stretch out every minute to be memorable. Dano’s performance as a redneck field hand is like watching Eli Sunday’s (his character in There Will Be Blood) distant relative in control. Cumberbatch is subtle in his sympathy and sheer denial over purchasing Solomon is exemplified in a scene between him and Solomon in the hall of his house. Not to give too much away regarding Brad Pitt’s performance, but his performance is almost allegorical to a certain figure in the Bible who was a carpenter, and I am not just talking about his facial hair.                           
                                                                                                                                              
12 Years a Slave is not a movie for the faint of heart or to those expecting a sequel to Django Unchained, it is a visual and emotionally-draining masterpiece that pulls no sympathetic punches towards observing one of the bleakest periods in American history, just as McQueen’s Hunger was a stark look at Ireland in the 1980s. 12 Years a Slave is a film that will leave you stunned and shaken by its performances, imagery and story of survival.