--- title: "Nebraska: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/nebraska/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/nebraska" critics_score: 80 critics_reviews: 13 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Nebraska (2013): what the critics said Critics' score 80 from 13 reviews: 11 positive, 2 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics respond warmly to Nebraska’s mixture of caustic humour and tenderness, finding emotional weight in its father-son journey without much sentimentality. Praise centres on Bruce Dern’s restrained, physically expressive performance, with June Squibb and the wider ensemble also drawing notice. The black-and-white photography and close observation of small-town Midwestern life are recurring strengths: the reviews value how family histories, ageing and disappointment emerge through ordinary encounters rather than speeches. The reservations concern pace, predictability and jokes that sometimes lean too heavily on Midwestern stereotypes. Little White Lies finds the opening shaky but says the film improves, while the Financial Times offers a firmer dissent, finding too little energy and too much reliance on Dern to enliven a predictable story. The spread is largely between enthusiasm and qualified approval, with even the less persuaded critics praising the central performance; the disagreement is over how much the film around it earns its feeling. ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 6 December 2013. The review hails the film as enchanting, funny, touching and true, ranking it among the year’s best. It singles out the vivid depiction of bleak Midwestern small-town life and Bruce Dern’s magnificent performance of shambling integrity as key strengths. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/nebraska-film-review-8986791.html) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 15 November 2013. The film is poignant and ruefully funny, marrying tart-tongued comedy with unexpected warmth in a story touching on family, memory, getting old and staying alive. It singles out Bruce Dern’s opportunity to give the performance of a lifetime. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-nebraska-20131115-story.html) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 5 December 2013. The critic calls it Payne’s best film yet, praising its tenderness toward the characters alongside caustic humour and forensic observation of their flaws. The austere black-and-white style and strong performances, particularly Bruce Dern’s, give the conventional father-son story real emotional impact without mawkishness. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/nebraska-film-review-elegiac-in-tone-8986583.html) ## Variety — Scott Foundas Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 23 May 2013. Festival review. Payne’s sixth feature is a low-concept, finely etched study of flawed characters stuck in life’s well-worn grooves, a wistful ode to small-town Midwestern life. It singles out Bruce Dern’s career-crowning performance as marvelous and nuanced. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2013/film/markets-festivals/cannes-film-review-nebraska-1200486846/) ## Vulture — David Edelstein Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 14 November 2013. The film is a bumpy ride but ultimately a triumph that arrives at a kind of gnarled grace true to the sorry old man and the family he let down. The critic singles out Bruce Dern’s beautiful near-pantomime performance and the emotional payoff of the father-son connection for praise. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2013/11/movie-review-nebraska.html) ## Empire — Damon Wise Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 15 May 2013. Festival review. The critic sees it as a nuanced, poignant comedy that deepens into a study of family roots and generational dynamics. Strong ensemble work, especially Stacy Keach’s menacing turn and Bruce Dern’s sympathetic lead, is highlighted alongside the film’s wry humour and wistful tone. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/nebraska-review/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 23 May 2013. Festival review. The critic describes it as a wryly poignant and potent comic drama about the bereft state of things in America’s heartland, with a strong sense of a vanishing past holding sway over an illusory future. He singles out the black-and-white cinematography for enriching the film artistically and Bruce Dern’s underplayed performance for its flashes of consciousness. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/nebraska-cannes-review-550167/) ## The New Yorker — Richard Brody Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 14 November 2013. Payne’s film is a haunting virtual archeology of long-sedimented family stories with lived-in intimacy. It singles out the shocks of return to a hometown and the performances conveying disappointment and repressed history. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/haunted-nebraska) ## Little White Lies — David Jenkins Rating 4/3/4. 13 December 2013. The critic finds it a bittersweet road movie that blossoms after a shaky start, praising Dern’s performance and its exploration of ageing and regret. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/nebraska) ## Film Comment — Larry Gross 3 October 2013. The critic calls Nebraska Payne’s best, most complex, and most satisfying work to date. They single out its visually ravishing quality and the balance of attitudes toward its characters and setting. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/alexander-payne-nebraska-review/) ## Financial Times — Nigel Andrews 5 December 2013. The film is a soft-hearted road gig that lacks punch and needs more energy, relying on one standout performance. Dern is the best thing by far, bringing spiky unpredictability to an otherwise predictable story. [Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/a2e918d8-5da4-11e3-b3e8-00144feabdc0) ## Screen Daily 23 May 2013. Festival review. The critic calls it a wry, somewhat downbeat comedy and tribute to America’s heartland, praising Dern’s performance and the black-and-white visuals while noting some uneven humor. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/nebraska/5056707.article) ## Sight and Sound — Trevor Johnston 6 December 2013. The critic praises the spare, affecting road movie and Bruce Dern's nuanced performance, highlighting its insightful character study of family and decline, while noting minor issues with some humor. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/film-week-nebraska) ## Slant Magazine — R. Kurt Osenlund 10 October 2013. Payne’s overview of America is extraordinarily, multifariously profound, particularly in its perception of American iconography and how its value echoes through generations. The critic singles out the treatment of the certificate as a capitalist fantasy and the final sequence stretching toward the horizon for praise, while noting the exploitation of Midwestern stereotypes as a flaw. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/nebraska/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw 5 December 2013. Payne's latest road movie is an unsentimental journey of male disappointment and regret featuring a father and son on an uncomfortable trip. It is funny and tender with superb performances from Dern and especially June Squibb as the foul-mouthed wife. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/dec/05/nebraska-review) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Rating Critic’s Pick. 15 November 2013. The film is a comedy with acutely funny lines and sharp sight gags that blossoms into a study of provincial American absurdity. It singles out Bruce Dern’s performance as turning an inarticulate alcoholic into a great screen character worth caring about. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/15/movies/nebraska-directed-by-alexander-payne-stars-bruce-dern.html) ## The Telegraph — Robbie Collin 5 December 2013. Payne returns to bittersweet form with a wistful road movie about real-world problems and family secrets unearthed during a father-son journey. Dern's ragged and delicate performance stands out and earned a Cannes prize. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/10076267/Nebraska-review.html) ## Time Out — Dave Calhoun Rating 4 out of 5 stars. 23 May 2013. Festival review. The critic praises the compassionate storytelling, black-and-white visuals of the Midwest, and Dern's unshowy performance, noting its blend of humor and sadness without sentimentality. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/nebraska) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Rating A-. 8 October 2013. The critic praises the film's compassionate portrayal of elderly life and a father-son relationship through a road trip story, highlighting strong performances especially from Bruce Dern and Will Forte. They single out the emotional depth in small moments and the black-and-white cinematography that underscores the characters' quiet existence. [Read the review](https://collider.com/nebraska-review/) ## /Film — David Chen Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 23 November 2013. The critic describes Alexander Payne's work as challenging, funny, and heartfelt, calling Nebraska no exception. They single out its beautiful, understated quality as a darkly funny, deliberately paced character study. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/529161/nebraska-spoiler-free-video-review/) ## HeyUGuys — Craig Skinner Rating 4/5. 25 May 2013. Festival review. The critic sees it as a return to form with ample wry humour and pathos after The Descendants. They highlight the screenplay and direction's ability to balance cutting observations of characters with genuine tenderness, especially in June Squibb's performance. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/cannes-2013-nebraska-review/) ## Den of Geek — Matthew Schuchman Rating 3/5. 15 November 2013. The review finds Nebraska a strange mix of brilliance and discomfort, more straight comedy than typical Payne with some rude stabs at Midwestern life. It praises Bruce Dern’s central performance above all. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/nebraska-review/) ## Digital Spy — Stella Papamichael Rating 4. 3 December 2013. The critic deems Nebraska another Payne masterpiece and a priceless gem of comedy-drama. They single out Bruce Dern’s haunting, physically expressive lead performance. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a533236/nebraska-review-bruce-dern-in-another-alexander-payne-masterpiece/) ## Paste — Tim Grierson Rating 7.2. 24 May 2013. Festival review. The review describes it as a melancholy drama with some comedy, noting its deadpan and depressive tone compared to Payne's other works, with strong performances from Will Forte and Bruce Dern, but feels it has some formulaic elements and strained comedy. Praises the emotional conclusion and the examination of family mysteries. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/nebraska/nebraska-2013-cannes-review) ## The Wrap 19 October 2013. The critic finds the film moving without sentimentality and an essential portrait of small-town Midwest life through one family's experiences. Payne's nuanced direction and the cast's performances, especially Bruce Dern as the stubborn father, are singled out for creating an authentic and poignant road story. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/nebraska-review/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/nebraska.md