"The kind of film you want to take home and show to your parents..."

Cinema's answer to the Great American Novel has got to be the road movie. There is just something about watching your protagonists speeding along endless highways, across deserts and mountains, that is effortlessly able to evoke the spirit of the age and area in which it was made. The road movie can give you an affinity for a world you've never even come close to, and Alexander Payne's Nebraska is no exception. Payne (Sideways, The Descendants) isn't a stranger to quirky road movies and although this is the first time he hasn't received a writing credit for one of his films - his dry, deadpan sense of humour is here in abundance.

As could be expected with Payne, Nebraska has a typically atypical setup. The film opens with the aged Woody (Bruce Dern) attempting to walk across two states from Billings, Montana to Lincoln, Nebraska to collect what he believes to be a million dollar prize. He is quickly picked up by the police and it is left to his son David (Will Forte) and wife Kate (June Squibb) to explain that the 'million dollar' letter is simply a ruse to sell magazine subscriptions. Woody refuses to believe that he isn't a millionaire and, following a few more attempted escapes, his son reluctantly agrees to accompany him to Nebraska in the hope of bonding with an impenetrable father who is in the last years of his life. Woody and David are soon held up in central Nebraska where friends and family members inevitably crawl out of the woodwork, all eager for a piece of Woody's fortune.

The belief in Woody's millions turns out to be far more important than the actual money. It brings him acclaim he could never have dreamed of otherwise, but the only physical thing he can actually think of buying is a new truck. The plot feels very comfortable to watch, chugging along at a leisurely pace, not afraid to relax and let you take in the atmosphere. It's helped by a strong cast, with stand-out performances from Bruce Dern's lead, and June Squibb as Woody's long-suffering wife.

Payne and cinematographer Phedon Papamichael shoot their subject beautifully, often pausing the narrative to linger on some slice of faded americana; a motel sign, a mountain, a field of hay. The film is shot in a stark monochrome that, rather than appearing harsh or sterile, actually provides an atmosphere of calm to the proceedings, making it a very intimate affair. This, coupled with the slow-paced but enjoyable plot and light but straight-faced humour, gives Nebraska a captivating quality that one can't help but smile at. Nebraska is the kind of film you want to take home and show to your parents.