OMAHA

(director: Cole Webley; screenwriter: Robert Machoian; cinematographer: Paul Meyers; editor: Jai Shukla; music: Christopher Bear; cast: John Magaro (Dad), Molly Belle Wright (Ella), Wyatt Solis (Charlie), Talia Balsam (Nurse Edie), Rachel Alig (Sheriff); Runtime: 83; MPAA Rating: PG-13; producer: Preston Lee; Kaleidoscope Pictures/Greenwich Entertainment; 2025)

“A downbeat road movie.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

A heartbreaking American tragedy story about being destitute, fatherhood and grieving over death. It’s set in 2008 as a downbeat road movie, that’s passionately directed by first-timer Cole Webley and smartly written by Robert Machoian.

One morning, in Reno, Nevada, the single father (John Magaro), whose wife recently died, finds that his home has been served with foreclosure papers. He wakes up his 9-year-old daughter Ella (Molly Belle Wright ) and 6-year-old son Charlie (Wyatt Solis), and takes them and their golden retriever Rex on I-80 east to Omaha without telling them why or where they’re going.

The feel-bad story leads to a shocking conclusion when we learn what dad is up to, in this emotionally raw slice of life drama that goes down a Kenneth Loach rabbit-hole wondering how the government can be so broken it can’t help someone in need to get by.

Omaha is one of those authentic films you should see to find out if you still have a heart beat, even if it’s a heavy watch and you question what the father did.

It played at the Sundance Film Festival.

REVIEWED ON 4/10/2025  GRADE: B
dennisschwartzreviews.com