Nebraska

It’s easy to see why director Alexander Payne was attracted to Nebraska, the first of his films in which he’s not been credited with the screenplay.

For starters, the Oscar-winner filmmaker hails from the state. The story has elements involving road trips and dysfunctional families, which he has explored in earlier films including Sideways and The Descendants.

However, Payne is not just repeating himself, as Nebraska is a rich character study about an unlikely bond formed between father and son through an incident that causes them to remember the past and ponder the future.

The story begins in Billings, Mont., where Woody (Bruce Dern) is a stubborn and disheveled old man who interprets a notice in the mail to believe he’s won $1 million in a sweepstakes. Before his family, including youngest son David (Will Forte), can convince him it’s not true, he has told all of his equally gullible friends and neighbors about his good fortune.

So David agrees to drive the defiant Woody to the sweepstakes headquarters in Lincoln, Neb., to prove the mailing is a scam. Along the way, they pass through Woody’s rural hometown, where the duo meets with distant relatives and old acquaintances who only make the problem worse.

The film was shot in black-and-white, and the cinematography lends a gritty texture to the sometimes bleak landscapes.

Rookie screenwriter Bob Nelson manages to put a fresh spin on familiar themes. And although his episodic script tends to meander through its middle section, it establishes an authentic generation gap and keeps its characters grounded in reality. The film balances its offbeat humor with an air of melancholy.

The understated Forte (MacGruber) shines in a change-of-pace role, while June Squibb (About Schmidt) gets many of the best lines as Woody’s incredulous wife, tossing out sarcastic insults with hilarious aplomb. A host of quirky supporting characters also help to liven the proceedings.

But the real star is Dern, the veteran actor who brings depth and poignancy to a character with a troubled past that is gradually revealed in detail.

It becomes clear during the film that the journey is not just physical but psychological as well, meant to heal old wounds and provide catharsis to a fractured family. Yet Nebraska retains a subversive edge rather than indulging in earnest sentimentality, which yields more weight in the end.

Rated R, 114 minutes.