In the movie, Omaha, a recently widowed father (John Magaro) takes his nine-year-old daughter Ella (Molly Belle Wright) and his six-year-old son Charlie (Wyatt Solis) on a road trip. The family travels in a car that's so beat-up Ella must help Dad push the vehicle in hopes of getting a jump start.
From the outset of this ultimately troubling film, it's clear that this is no pleasure trip.
Setting a slight but emotionally rich story against lonely American landscapes, director Cole Webley focuses on two kids we can't help but worry about.
Dad doesn't tell the kids where he's going or why he's rushed them out of the house. Ella is old enough to sense that all is not well, and it's clear that this road trip isn't an interlude; it's a departure. Dad even takes the family dog Rex along. He also instructs Ella to bring something she values. She should, he says, act as if the house they're leaving is on fire and a hasty escape has become necessary.
At times, cinematographer Paul Meyers turns the movie into an ode to childhood play. At one point, Ella and Charlie fly a kite, and Rex chases them across an open field. But we can't let go of the uneasy foreboding about what's in store for these kids.
Both young actors give amazingly naturalistic performances. Magaro ably plays a troubled but reticent father. Perhaps a construction worker by trade, Dad clearly loves these kids but can't express himself about the emotional and financial burdens he carries.
Dad and his kids stop at stop at motels, take dips in pools, and visit fast-food outlets. Clearly under economic strain, Dad scrapes together just enough money to pay for food.
Working from a screenplay by Robert Machoian, Webley reaches a conclusion that throws the rest of the movie into sad perspective. We're tempted to try to extend the story in our heads. What will become of three characters whose lives will never be the same after their trip to Omaha?
As we suspected, the destination of this road trip is heartbreak.
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