15 Essential Films You Might've Missed From This Decade (So Far)

6. Nebraska

Of all the filmmakers working within the studio system today, only a tiny handful have final cut privilege over their work - Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott and Peter Jackson are three of the more obvious choices - Alexander Payne is perhaps a more surprising addition to the elite list. Perhaps this privilege can be accounted for by the fact that Payne's movies are usually intimate character-based studies which don't require a huge budget to produce. Whatever the reason, his films are typically noted for their eccentric characters and wonderful dialogue, and Nebraska is no exception. The austere if rather beautiful black and white cinematography is deceptive insofar as Nebraska is actually a warm and heartfelt examination of an old man on the brink of losing his marbles. Bruce Dern's central performance is perhaps the best of his career, while a supporting role from Bob Odenkirk is a real pleasure to watch.