“Where are we going?” six-year-old Charlie (Wyatt Solis) asks his father (John Magaro). Charlie, his elder sister Ella (Molly Belle Wright) are seated inside a car with their father within the first five minutes of the film. The kids have no idea where they’re headed. Cole Webley’s directorial debut is the kind of film where exposition comes at a premium. Information trickles down through stray scenes – the sheriff putting an eviction notice on their house right around the time they’re leaving tells us about the family’s dire financial situation. Ella tells Charlie she was taught to fly a kite by their mother before “she got sick” – explaining who the father talks to, grieving his partner, almost praying to her for forgiveness. When they’re at a store, and the father wishes to spoil his kids with a kite and a meal of their choice, the clerk informs him he has only $20 left on his food stamps.
Webley’s film is banking on the viewers to pick up these tiny pieces of information to guess where it’s headed. They’re broke, the mother has passed, and while the father joins in on his children’s silliness – jumping on the bed with them, showering them with all that he has left to give – it doesn’t do much to mask his despondency. Ella, wise beyond nine-year-old self, is adept at helping push the car each time it breaks down. She also notes her father’s need for space to grieve an irreparable sadness within, turning into a faux-parent to Charlie for that time.
Both Wright and Solis are exceptional in their roles as young children – the trickiest parts in a film. Finding the balance of being childish, entitled, exasperating, Ella and Charlie are also two supremely well brought-up kids; which reflects during the film’s most trying scenes. Magaro, who was sensational in Sundance hit Past Lives (2023), is fearless in the way he guards the interiority of his character as a grieving husband, and a father tortured by his incompetence to provide. It’s a minimalistic, non-showy performance reminiscent of Paul Mescal in Aftersun (2023).
As Ella gets impatient and plies her father with questions about where they’re headed, she finally manages to get a response out of him. “Nebraska,” he says. ‘Why Nebraska?’ – a question on the minds of the children, as much as most viewers – forms the rest of the film.
A still from ‘Omaha’.
Webley’s film strolls through roadside gas stations, as the father buys them fast food, ice cream. There’s a scene where the kids try to fly a kite in Utah’s salt flats, while the father continues sitting in his car. Not wanting to contaminate the moment of pure joy with his demons – it’s a moment of grace from a man, who has otherwise been defeated on all fronts, still intent on protecting his children from himself. It condenses the all-encompassing job of being a parent.
Through the road trip, Omaha reveals itself to be a stark portrait of the desperation of an America on the margins. It physically hurts to see the family spend during the trip – aware of the very small repository of the funds at their disposal. It’s devastating how Magaro’s face falls when he realises he can’t afford to buy two kites for his children, instead of one. The peace on his face when he sees his children have the time of their lives at the Omaha zoo – where he insists on drinking only water, while spoiling his kids with treats. There’s a raw, unforgiving moment inside a cafe, where a server warns Magaro’s character about ‘no sleeping here’ – after he puts his head down on a table. He’d just bought a coffee with his last few pennies. Not used to being treated like this, especially after being a productive part of ‘civilised’ society till very recently, the father understandably has a meltdown. It’s the only moment, where Magaro, having exercised restraint through the entire film, allows the dam to break.
If you’ve seen enough movies, you might be able to guess how Omaha concludes. Especially, after the father constantly scolds Ella about being ‘responsible’. A piece of text comes up on screen once the film ends, risking turning a well-made film into a PSA. However, that’s a minor quibble compared to that gut-wrenching climax, addressing how society’s wheel of progress crushes so many families under it. The kids might not be alright, but the least we can do is grapple with it as a society.
Omaha had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival 2025.
