There are many films to be excited about at this year's Cannes Film Festival - the Coens' Inside Llewyn Davis, Nicolas Winding Refn's Only God Forgives, Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring and many more - but there's one that will stand out for many: Alexander Payne's latest, Nebraska.
Like The Descendants (and many of Payne's other films), it involves family trouble. And like About Schmidt (and many of his other films), it involves a road trip, which places **Nebraska **firmly in the Payne wheelhouse. Based on a script by Bob Nelson, it was originally pitched to Payne while About Schmidt was in production, but knowing that his next film would be another road trip, Sideways, he decided to hold out on making it until after The Descendants.
The plot sees Will Forte's David agreeing to go on a trip with his alcoholic aging father Woody (Bruce Dern) when he wins a million dollar Publishers Clearing House prize. In the clip below, a malicious 'old friend' Ed (Stacy Keach) tries to extort some of Woody's money out of him. You may be expecting more humour from a Payne film, and it's a safe bet there will be some, but in this particular snippet there's more malice than mirth.
Nebraska is out in the US on November 22, with Cannes-goers (including Empire) getting to see it earlier on May 23. Expect a first reaction review soon after it screens for a better taste of what the rest of the world can look forward to.