R | 2h 5min | Comedy, Drama | 2002
Narrative films about “finding oneself” through miserable circumstances can sometime come off as contrived. If they don’t seem contrived, they can sometimes fall into another undesirable, yet all-too-common category: the overly saccharine and schmaltzy.
Just last week I watched and reviewed the phenomenal 2013 film “Nebraska” (starring Bruce Dern, Will Forte, and June Squibb), directed by one of my new favorite directors (who coincidentally is from Nebraska), Alexander Payne. It simultaneously managed to be earthy, raw, and hilarious. So, when I’d discovered that he directed another movie about a man going through some serious trials and tribulations, but still tries to make amends for past wrongs, I knew it wouldn’t fit into either of the aforementioned categories.
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