Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on February 2014

When Woody (Bruce Dern in a career-crowning role), an ornery old fart in Billings, Montana, receives one of those “You may already have won $1,000,000” letters, he gets it into his head that he must get to Lincoln, Nebraska to pick up his check. His long-suffering son David (SNL’s Will Forte) knows it’s a scam, but after retrieving the too-old-to-drive octogenarian from several attempts to walk there, he consents to take him, and another minimalist Alexander Payne road-trip dramedy is born (About Schmidt, Sideways). They get stalled on a visit to dad’s hometown, where former neighbors react to the news of Woody’s newfound wealth with good wishes… and greed. There’s a lot going on here, little of it what you expect. The implication is that the gauzy, nostalgic perception of America’s past favored by a certain end of the political spectrum never existed. To be sure, this is a comedy, but one infused with regret and longing, a wry study of life and roots. Woody is senile, temperamental, stubborn, unpleasant and alcoholic. But Payne somehow turns him into an unforgettable screen character. We never actually like him, but we get him. We care. The final scene, as simple as a drive down Main Street, is profoundly affecting. (114 min)