Omaha

Ella (Molly Belle Wright) and Charlie (Wyatt Solis) go on a road trip with their dad (John Magaro) and Rex in Omaha (Distributed by Greenwich Entertainment)

Omaha is a tender, sad, quiet road trip drama about a father and his two young children driving toward uncertainty. There is an undertone of sadness, even during seemingly sweet bonding moments. It is clear the father is hurting. Something is definitely wrong. Without knowing exactly what the destination of their journey is going to be, it is apparent early on it won’t be a happy one. There isn’t a lot of dialogue here. It is kids acting like kids and an adult who loves them trying not to show them how scared he is.

There isn’t much story. The plot simmers underneath the surface, a little hazy, but always lurking. In the end, it is a bit too slight and the conclusion lacks real impact. However, the patient, subtly emotional filmmaking, and a very strong performance from excellent character actor John Magaro, make for a mostly engaging drama.

A man wakes his nine-year-old daughter and six-year-old son, grabs their dog and ushers them into his car. They are going on a trip with an unclear purpose. All the children know is that daddy seems upset.

Omaha (an efficient 79 minutes, without the end credits) contains no exposition and no explicit explanation for the father’s behavior. It is obvious to the audience that he is struggling with something extremely difficult. Despite his best efforts to hide his feelings from his children, his daughter, Ella, senses something is wrong. She just doesn’t know how worried she is supposed to be. After all, he takes care of them. Though she is still a kid, she looks at her dad as if she knows tough times are ahead and she will have to be older than her years to get through them. He puts on a brave face to make this fun for them, yet his actions are off enough to create doubt in her mind. That aspect of the movie is both touching and heartbreaking.

For most of its runtime, there are only three performers onscreen. While Molly Belle Wright, as Ella, and Wyatt Solis, as Charlie, are both good, they are mainly cute kids in an unthinkable situation. This is carried by John Magaro as their dad. He instantly seems like a man broken by something, using whatever he has left to barely hold it together for his son and daughter. The script is sparse, so Magaro must use body language, movement and his eyes to tell the audience everything. He tries to control his voice to make sure Ella and Charlie are hearing what they are used to. But it slips out occasionally. Magaro is fantastic here, creating an emotional arc that would have been hidden on the page. That is the heart of Omaha.

This is the type of story where not much happens, except for three lives changing forever. It requires patience and focus on the part of the viewer because, for long stretches, we are simply watching life go on. It can be quite captivating when a movie involves us as a participant. Omaha doesn’t fully close the deal, leaving us feeling sad without truly hitting its final points. What it left me with most of all is John Magaro’s face; that look of hopelessness mixed with unconditional love. It is devastating.

3¾ out of 5

Cast:

John Magaro as Dad

Molly Belle Wright as Ella

Wyatt Solis as Charlie

Directed by Cole Webley

Written by Robert Machoian