Bruce Dern can hold our attention through a long, unhelpful silence. We rate him most highly in Nebraska, where he lets a stubborn father remain hard to like even as we begin to care about him.
Fi1m perspective
In Nebraska (2013), Bruce Dern's Woody Grant shambles through scenes and says little to encourage his son to keep trying. Dern leaves the stubbornness and the disappointments in place, rather than supplying a lovable old man beneath them. We were moved by how hard he makes a frank conversation seem, because Will Forte's patient David has so little encouragement to go on. Alexander Payne gives both actors time to make staying together feel like a choice.
His early casting tended to put that awkwardness to less sympathetic use. Villain roles such as The Cowboys (1972) limited his leading opportunities, while Silent Running (1972) offered a rare lead as Freeman Lowell. Supporting and character parts remained much of his work through the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Nebraska makes particular use of the resentment and quiet determination he can bring to an older man, without asking us to overlook the ways Woody has failed his family.
The film does sometimes give him more time than he needs. Editor Kevin Tent lets the pauses run, which serves the performance once the film settles but leaves the opening slow to find its rhythm. Mark Orton's sympathetic music supports the gentler scenes, although Dern and Forte hardly need it to explain what they feel. Some of the rural jokes are easy, too; Dern's unwillingness to soften Woody is one reason the film remains worth the wait.
Quentin Tarantino uses the resentment more directly in The Hateful Eight (2015), casting Dern as General Sandy Smithers. Sitting by the fire, he hates Warren on sight; their exchange is the film's best-written stretch, though it cannot excuse the excessive length or the pleasure taken in cruelty. We would recommend it for the cast, with no promise of agreeable company.
In Tarantino's Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019), Dern is George Spahn, the old ranch owner whom Cliff insists on seeing. Editor Fred Raskin draws out the approach to the house until a visit becomes frightening, placing Dern within the film's strongest sequence. Start with Nebraska, and give it time to get past that sluggish opening.
Biography
Bruce Dern is an American actor. Born in Chicago in 1936, he trained at the Actors Studio and began his career with small roles in films and on television in the early 1960s, including guest appearances in Western series.
He gained prominence during the New Hollywood era with performances in films such as They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), The Cowboys (1972) and The Great Gatsby (1974). Dern received Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor for Coming Home (1978) and Best Actor for Nebraska (2013). He has collaborated several times with director Quentin Tarantino, appearing as General Sandy Smithers in The Hateful Eight (2015) and George Spahn in Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019).
His other notable credits include Django Unchained (2012), Monster (2003) and The 'Burbs (1989). Dern is the father of actress Laura Dern.
