Title – Omaha (2025)
Director – Cole Webley (feature debut)
Cast – John Magaro, Molly Belle Wright, Wyatt Solis
Plot – A struggling single parent (Magaro) takes his two young children Ella (Wright) and Charlie (Solis) on an impromptu road trip that harbors deeper on-going consequences.
“We’re going to go on a trip”
Review by Eddie on 20/10/2026
Making its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, Cole Webley’s feature debut Omaha is a quietly devastating slice of life drama that’s uncompromising in its goal to explore a family’s darkest hour in an honest, raw and humanistic way.
Built around a softly spoken career best performance from long-time ensemble player John Magaro as Omaha’s unnamed father and widower, Webley’s film may follow similar narrative beats to dramatic indies cut from the same cloth but regardless of its treading on familiar ground, there’s a power to this cross-country road trip tale that becomes more and more impactful as we become aware of Magaro’s true intentions for an impromptu trek.
Nicely captured by cinematographer Paul Meyers, Webley’s realistically pretty encapsulation of the working-class America that surrounds Magaro and his children Ella and Charlie becomes a character within the film, showcasing a world that is filled with beauty and quiet wonders, like a salt lake kite stop over and also scenes that strike a chord to anyone that’s ever walked the middle to lower class lines such as budget motel accommodation or gas store stopovers.
Slowly giving us more context as the films brief 80-minute runtime transpires, Webley plays a lot of his narrative cards close to his chest, but the film benefits from this approach as we are lulled multiple times into thinking we are watching a certain something that becomes something else entirely, at all times wonderfully played out by the films central trio.
A recognisable face over a number of years with key roles in the likes of The Big Short, Past Lives and First Cow, it’s great that Webley was able to gift Magaro a much meatier role than he is usually afforded and while his turn here requires him to produce little in the way of dialogue, there’s a lot that is said by Magaro through his physical performance, making it an unshowy turn from an actor who has a lot to give when afforded the opportunity.
The centrepiece of this emotionally powerful journey, Magaro’s turn is enhanced by the support of young performers Molly Belle Wright and Wyatt Solis as Ella and Charlie respectively, with the two industry up and comers delivering noteworthy turns here as children forced to confront very adult life situations, with their on screen back and forwards with Magaro naturalistic and impactful.
Omaha may not be a film you hear a lot about in amongst all the noise of higher profile releases and awards baiters that will come your way in 2026 but it’s a film that deserves to find an audience, with Webley creating an unassumingly experience that will stick with you long after the credits have rolled.
Final Say –
Arguably too bleak and devoid of levity for some, Omaha acts as a powerful exploration of the desperate measures some need to take to keep their heads above water all the while gifting its three main performers a chance to shine with memorable performances you won’t soon forget.
4 road trip CD’s out of 5
