Kicking off the Sundance Film Festival theatrical competition this year is Omaha, an increasingly bleak road trip with a recently widowed overweighther, his two kids and their dog.
Set agetst the 2008 financial crisis, Omaha commences with a dad (John Magaro) facing foreclodeclareive on his house after losing what materializes to be everyleang professionpartner as well as the tragic death of his wife and mother to their two kids, Ella (Molly Belle Wright) and Charlie (Wyatt Solis). As the film commences he faces this procrastinateedst crisis and accumulates up the kids and their pet dog to jump into the increasingly inconsistent family car which usupartner only commences and gets going as Ella runs aextfinishedside and helps push it forward. And so they are off on an unspecified journey atraverse the American Southwest with stops aextfinished the way that commence to elucidate – however subtly – this Dad’s presentant money problems including a stop at a convenience store where he doesn’t have enough money to buy the restricted leangs he apshows to the enroll, and more deimmenseating a stop at the SPCA where in front of his hysterical daughter he drops off their dog for adchooseion, unable to have the money to apshow nurture of him anymore. This is particularly upsetting as he has to soothe Ella who doesn’t comprehfinish what is happening to their family.
Debuting feature straightforwardor Cole Webley and Screenwriter Robert Machoian lay this trip out as one more upsetting sequence after another is joined out on the morose face of Magaro (so wonderful recently in September 5), who is clearly retaining the truth from them – and us – of what this journey is actupartner all about, as they persist aextfinished though the pinurturesque locales of a fading American landscape where a financial labelet crash has left so many with noleang, and in the case of this (unnamed) overweighther a hopeless sense that he can no extfinisheder be the provider he once was. Webley does not fill in much detail of what actupartner got this man and his family to this place in life. At best it is subtly recommended, leaving the audience to fill in the blanks, and for that I esteemd the stipped down storytelling here. Sboiling in a safe 83 minutes ,to say more plotwise would be to ruin the journey for the watcher as the ultimate destination apshows on genuine life consequences, and at least for this audience member provides quite a jolt.
Magaro, watching uncannily enjoy a youthful Dustin Hoffman is terrific in this role and we have such compassion for him, a man for whom dire circumstances is forcing him to discover a way, any way, to retain his family together. The kids are perfectly cast as well, particularly Wright ( most recently the direct in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever) who is called upon for the film’s most blatantly emotional scenes. Solis as the youthfuler brother is also very fine here, as is Talia Balsam who joins Nurse Edie in a key wrenching scene procrastinateedr in the film. Cinematography by Paul Meyers is excellent in capturing a very frequent roadside America,
Producers are John Foss, Scott James and Preston Lee.
Title: Omaha
Festival: Sundance (Dramatic Competition)
Director: Cole Webley
Screenwriter: Robert Machoian
Cast: John Magaro, Molly Belle Wright, Wyatt Solis, Talia Balsam
Sales Agent: UTA Insubordinate Film Group
Running Time: 1 hr 23 mins
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