Review: Nomadland – Nominated for SIX Oscars

Too old for middle age, too poor for retirement, in a company owned town with no company, in the Great Recession without end.  What do you do?  Where do you go?  How do you LIVE? We review Nomadland.

As I write this review during a worldwide pandemic and current economic collapse, Nomadland looks at one woman’s journey through the last one.

Nomadland receives nominations for six Academy Awards, including Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Picture.

The Plot

Fern, played by Frances McDormand, worked in the ironically named ‘Empire, NV’, somewhere North of Reno.  I say ‘ironic’ because there’s no ‘Empire’ to rule in an empty town.  I say the past tense of ‘work’ because Nomadland starts a year AFTER she lost EVERYTHING.

Fern’s husband: DEAD.  Fern’s job: GONE.  The house Fern lives in: Company owned, and Company GONE.  The town Fern lives in: virtually EMPTY.  It may be the holiday season, 2011; but, Fern has little to celebrate.

We start Nomadland with Fern clearing out her few remaining worldly possessions from a storage locker on a grey winter’s day.  The little she keeps fills a used industrial van.

With no shelter beyond that used van, Fern finds work at an Amazon Fulfillment Center.  The work is temporary, as is the fulfillment.

Fern runs into some friends at a Walmart, who quietly offer her a place to stay.  She politely refuses, insisting she’s ‘not ‘homeless’, just ‘houseless”. 

Fern’s Amazon co-worker and co-laundry-puzzle-solver, Linda May shares her van life experience with Fern.  Life had painted Linda May into a corner, so Linda May made choices to live in this Life.

Linda May proves to Fern the viability of a nomadic lifestyle, and introduces her to the Nomadland community of Bob Wells.

Fern journeys to the ‘Rubber Tramp Ren-dez-vous’, a boot camp for Nomaders in the Arizona desert.  How does one not just survive, but thrive in a Van?  Fern wants to learn.

The Good – Nomadland

What does it mean to be homeless?  The answer might seem simple on the surface, but the reality is much more complicated in real life.

What is ‘Nomadland’: a fictional movie, or a documentary?  The answer might seem simple, but the reality of this film complicates just as much as the homelessness question.

The blurred reality of asking those two questions plays out beautifully in Nomadland.  This movie is fictional, but many of the locations and the people are the real deal. 

We see a real Amazon Fulfillment Center and the real Arizona desert.  We spend much of the film with Fern listening to real people tell their real stories.  This happens often in documentaries, but rarely in a fictional movie.

The editing style shows us the reality of van life.  Fern struggles to sleep.  Fern listens to A.M radio stations and clears snow off the van she names ‘Vanguard’.  Little to no dialogue is heard.  Only a pensive piano score marks the passage of time.

Eighteen minutes into the film, and we’ve already traveled hundreds of miles from Northern Nevada to the Arizona desert.

Fern reunites with Linda May at Bob Wells’ RTR.  Longer takes with fewer edits bring us into the gathering.  Listening to Bob teach, sharing a meal with other nomads, and hearing their stories; the documentary style shows us their reality.

The nomads share stories around a campfire that all ring true.  The shared human experience of people who have lost so much, yet try to retain their dignity and self determination.

We see Fern walk around the camp at sunset, exchanging greetings with others and enjoying the beauty of nature she hasn’t seen before.  Fern starts to smile.

Fern learns to change a tire, to choose the proper bucket, and to trade possessions.  We meet Dave, played by David Strathairn, talking about can openers.  Dave has been at this a while, and instantly takes a shine to Fern.  She smiles, and even turns to take a longer look as she walks away.

Fern, Linda May, and their new friend Swankie enjoy the waning days of the RTR.  As quickly as they gathered, the Nomads slowly drive away, leaving Fern and Swankie by themselves at the campsite.

The Second Act sees a much more self-confident Fern now living the lifestyle.  She picks up odd jobs, meets more people, and deepens her bond with Swankie.  Swankie gives Fern the Nomad Masterclass, before falling sick. 

Swankie shares her dreams for her remaining time left.  The two women spend time together, Fern seeing a possible glimpse into her future.

Fern travels to the Badlands of South Dakota.  She finds work at a campsite and a truck stop restaurant; and deepens her bond with Dave.  They stargaze, visit National Parks, and even take care of each other.

Dave’s son James, played by Tay Strathairn – David Strathairn’s real life son, pays a visit.  James wants Dave to meet his son, and Dave invites Fern to visit the whole family.  Fern eventually makes her way there, but seems a changed woman.

The Bad

There’s little to no bad parts to this film.

The Review – Nomadland

Look at the IMDb page for Nomadland.  You’ll find Frances McDormand and David Strathairn as names you recognize, and almost all other entries are real people.

The majority of the Nomadland cast is credited with their real name as their character, and Nomadland is the ONLY credit on their name.

Littered throughout this film are pieces of stories of real people.  We see Frances McDormand, as Fern, actually listening to their stories, and watch her character grow through bonding with them.

The lines between professional actors and the real life people in the Nomad lifestyle blur, as does McDormand’s performance as Fern.  Watching Fern listen to people, you feel McDormand’s humanity hearing their stories, rather than an actor re-acting to a scene partner.  Where one ends and another begins is up for debate.

The Cinematography, shot by Joshua James Richards, and Editing, credited by Director Chloe Zhao, are also nominated for Oscars.  Both are stunning and play off each other beautifully to show the reality Fern faces in the Nomadland lifestyle, and the emotional journey she goes on to regain her agency in life.

Nomadland is only 107 minutes long, but feels every bit the year of Fern’s life we see.  This economy of storytelling belies the depth of her journey, and the blurred lines of reality and fiction credit the masterful storytelling by Zhao and McDormand.

By the time Fern gets her third and fourth offers for shelter, we see a much different Fern say ‘No’ than the beginning of the film.  That Fern said no out of stubborn pride.  This Fern eventually realizes her choice is to live in Nomadland.  Not to embrace it, but to actively choose it.

Watch this film.  Rated-R.  Drama.  4 1/2 Stars.

Additional Information.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9770150

Other 2021 Oscar Nominated Films Reviews