A slice of life This movie reminds me so much of my dad, the summer he died. He was an educated man, thankfully still with all his faculties, someone who had always eschewed winnings, suing, gambling, games of chance. He preached up to the Sunday before he left us.
But that last summer he became convinced he was going to win the Readers' Digest contest that came in the mail, even going so far as to write to the company as well as to consult a lawyer - making sure that if he died before the final contest announcement my mother would receive the winnings.
That same feeling, the same conviction is portrayed perfectly by Bruce Dern, one of my favourites. As Woody says, "Just wanted to leave you something...." So true, so true.
Brilliant casting - Dern, Stacy Keach, Rance Howard, June Squibb, Will Forte et al - the crew, writer Bob Nelson and director Alexander Payne have created a gem - not to be missed.