We’ll stop for gas, and then push on to where this trip goes.
When I saw “Tuner” with my cousins at the Boulder International Film Festival, they were conflicted by the ending as if they preferred the happy ending tradition. And I told them that movies don’t always have happy endings, and they can be different than others. I’m not even sure if they would want to see “Omaha,” which takes a road trip movie and reminds people about how in 2008, parents were abandoning kids at hospitals and other places in Omaha, Nebraska. This was part of a loophole in a safe haven law where parents could abandon their children ages 1-17. I know it sounds like a spoiler alert, but I wanted you viewers to be cautious. Or you might appreciate the different approach the movie is trying to take.
John Magaro plays a single father who gets his two kids-daughter Ella (Molly Belle Wright) and son Charlie (Wyatt Solis)-early in the morning to take them on a cross country road trip to Nebraska following the death of their mother. They have to travel light and drop their dog at an animal shelter, pop by various motels, and they have to walk the car just to get it moving like the VW bus in “Little Miss Sunshine.” The kids also pass the time by talking about gross-out jokes (which I don’t want to hear), and the little brother stealing toy cars from gas stations.
They’re not sure which part of Nebraska they’re going to, but they do stop by Omaha to check out their zoo. And eventually, the dad has to make a bad choice. Thus transitioning the film from a road trip movie to a representation of what Nebraska dealt with.
“Omaha” is the directorial debut of Cole Webley, whose background includes short films like “10:17,” “Con Amor,” and “After We Rest.” His feature debut is an impressive step-up that takes a simple trip, makes it into an 80 minute movie, casts Magaro, Wright, and Solis in terrific performances, and closes with pathos that speaks for the unlucky kids and parents. And though we do get detours in the story, the writing by Robert Machoian (“God Bless the Child,” “The Killing of Two Lovers”) is clean and wise.
We’re not sure if the father and kids riding a grocery cart to the tune of The Hives’ “Tick Tick Boom” is supposed to liven things up, but kids at a certain age aren’t really prepared for pathos in their lives. If kids are told by their parents they have to take a road trip, how would they respond? And what questions would they ask? They’re supposed to ask where are they going? But it seems to me that they can’t always know the exact reason for their trek.
The filming schedule included 20 days in Utah, and through Paul Meyers’ cinematography, the locations look gorgeous and full of life. The best in particular is when the kids run with their dog and fly a kite through salt flats. You’re able to run with them and see their joy and energy. And I was thinking back to “Hot Water,” which hasn’t found a release date yet, but also premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. These small road trip movies have different goals to their cross country journeys, as well as characters you want to get to know more of. Again, this is a shorter film, but it goes through the happy and sad experiences the travelers have.
I can’t make any promises to you readers about satisfaction within the story, but I can promise you the actors are great, the look is full of oxygen, and the emotional weight has plenty of gas. And again, I apologize if I spoiled the movie a little, but every now and then, you need a little heads up about what to expect. Your call. You can keep driving. Or you can get out and hitchhike.
In Select Theaters This Friday