Sundance 2025 Review: Omaha – “A solid directorial debut.”
A young widower struggling financially takes his daughter and son on a cross country road trip.
In the early hours of the morning, a father wakes his son and daughter up to take an unexpected trip while a police officer appears to enforce an eviction notice. Money is tight and the family is still reeling from the death of their matriarch. Various stops occur along the way to allow the children to unwind and have some fun with each other. Not everything is joyous as the dire situation escalates when the family’s dog gets left behind at an animal shelter and the daughter is not able to get a straight answer as to where they are actually headed.
While John Magaro does an admirable job playing a conflicted father figure, it is the performances of Molly Belle Wright and Wyatt Solis which are the heart and soul of the movie; they come across as believable siblings who care for each other and slowly begin to realize that their carefree days are coming to an end. Nice touches include the scene where a piece of clothing is thrown at a sleepy Wright which promptly knocks her back onto her bed where she would rather be and when Solis drapes his leg over the dog while in the backseat of the car.
Fireworks are utilized for great dramatic visual effect and the underwater motel pool shots are endearing and fun to watch. This is a solid directorial debut by Cole Webley who addresses a serious social issue in a sensitive manner rather than being preachy and melodramatic. The camera work has a documentary handheld style that is gritty and places the viewer in the middle of the action to witness the minor moments of humiliation of not being able to support a family properly adding up to the point where a drastic decision is made that has significant ramifications.
The 2025 Sundance Film Festival takes place January 23 to February 2, 2025, in person and online, and for more information visit sundance.org.
Trevor Hogg is a freelance video editor and writer who currently resides in Canada; he can be found at LinkedIn.