I will watch any movie just for John Magaro. He’s the quintessential character actor who simply disappears into any role he takes on. His filmography is also nothing to scoff at, with movies like First Cow, Past Lives and LaRoy, Texas under his belt. With Magaro in the lead role and Robert Machoian writing the screenplay, I was prepared for emotional devastation.
It is early morning when a dad (Magaro) wakes up his two children Charlie (Wyatt Solis) and Ella (Molly Belle Wright). His only instruction is to take what they really need – respect to Ella for taking her Twilight book with her – and they all pile into the car for a road trip with a mysterious destination. Where are they going? Why are they going? We don’t know, but Magaro’s haunting looks of despair when he is away from his children spells something bleak. Magaro portrays to us a man carrying an immense baggage, something he has to bear on his own because he can’t share his burdens with his two small children. His quiet whispers to his dead wife Becky while the children are sleeping is just heartbreaking to watch.
The child actors are great; very natural and authentic. Webley takes the time to show us imagery of the kids just being kids – Charlie playing with the paper towels in a toilet, doing a random dance in the parking lot, the pair doing a jig in front of the car after being stuck in the car for a while. Wright especially has to handle quite a fair bit of the movie’s emotional weight, and she does it so well. She’s in a difficult in-between space; she’s older so she notices that something’s wrong with her dad, but she also feels the burden of being the older sibling.
The cinematography is so clear and crisp. I like the clarity in the road trip shots – the vivid blueness of the sky, the shocking whiteness of the salt flats. The contrast of these moving, dynamic shots to the static domestic images the film begins with is intentional. Their home holds nothing for them anymore. It’s also significant that a bunch of kids set off fireworks, but this beautiful spectacle is far away from the trio, as if all the beauty and loveliness of the world is distant from them; they’re in their own desolate bubble.
Omaha is paced really well. It keeps us curious in their destination, yet continuously invested in these characters – they’re doing all these road trip things and we’re never bored. The film is so visually engaging that I couldn’t tear my eyes away. I drank in everything, even the painful imagery. We never quite get all the answers, which might frustrate some, but I think there’s enough context for us to put most of the pieces together, even if we don’t get the whole picture. I don’t know where the year will take me, but I suspect that Omaha will still hold a special place in my heart at the end of it.
Review screener provided.
REVIEW SCORE: 4/5
