Omaha, 2025.
Directed by Cole Webley.
Starting John Magaro, Molly Belle Wright, Wyatt Solis, Talia Balsam, Emma Keifer, and Teo Santos.
SYNOPSIS:
After a family tragedy, siblings Ella and Charlie are woken up by their dad and taken on a cross-country journey, experiencing a new world. As their adventure unfolds, Ella begins to understand that things might not be what they seem.
In the middle of the night, John Magaro’s unnamed Dad wakes his young children for a long drive. He tells Elle (Molly Belle Wright) to imagine that the house is burning down and to only bring with her what she would take in such a scenario. It’s a line that looms large over Omaha, mainly because we don’t know the stakes behind this rushed traversal starting from Sacramento. It is made clear that the father is not in trouble with the law, that the mother has tragically died from a terminal illness, and that for reasons beyond grieving, what he has to do or where he is potentially relocating with his children is weighing heavy on his conscience.
Dad is also prone to mood swings, sometimes getting overly irritated at the most banal of incidents, such as Elle telling him not to give the dog people food. There are also tender, loving sides and sacrificial moments that show he loves these kids, most notably when he is strapped for financial aid food benefits, taking his Lunchable out of the cart when the payment process is declined. Breaking up all the driving are lived-in scenes of him, Elle, and Charlie (Wyatt Solis) flying kites across desert landscapes (beautifully captured by cinematographer Paul Meyers), goofing off in a hotel’s public pool, or enthusiastically setting off fireworks. When they are in the car, they listen to some of Mom’s song covers on CD, which is touching.
At a gas station, a fellow customer suggests Elle take her and her brother to the Omaha Zoo. When she does, he responds with an indifferent “maybe” even though he doesn’t necessarily seem pressed for time. Much here involves a motive that intentionally keeps viewers off balance and part of that is unquestionably a mistake. Omaha is a film about something peculiar that is treated like a climactic plot twist in the form of grossly uncomfortable emotional manipulation, no matter how impressive the performances are here from John Magaro and the children, especially young Molly Belle Wright.
There is a chance Omaha might have worked if it bothered to let viewers in on that reasoning beforehand or at least tried to give Dad more depth beyond a push-and-pull relationship with his children. Sticking with his perspective during the last 20 minutes is also a questionable creative choice, especially since the film goes for empathy when it should be peeling back more about these circumstances.
As it is, this is a hollow exercise in tackling tricky subject matter, which is surprising considering screenwriter Robert Machoian (director of The Killing of Two Lovers, which approached domestic strife with a sensitive and carefully considerate touch) wrote the script. One is led to assume he knows Omaha wasn’t up to par with his previous efforts and decided to let someone else helm it. It’s also possible that director Cole Webley made changes or forgot to give depth to the characters. They are humanized to a point until the ending misguidedly goes for the heart with an unearned, insulting, heavy-handed force.
It’s a solid foundation for a devastating narrative with boneheaded execution and thin characterization. Omaha is trying to emulate two recently beloved films about poverty and parenthood yet doesn’t seem to understand what made either of them special.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association, Critics Choice Association, and Online Film Critics Society. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews and follow my BlueSky or Letterboxd
