Nomadland review

NOMADLAND:

FRANCES MCDORMAND HITS THE ROAD IN THIS BEAUTIFUL TRIBUTE TO THE LESS FORTUNATE! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES

Frances McDormand in Nomadland

 

            Frances McDormand (Fargo, Burn After Reading, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) and director Chloé Zhao (Songs My Brother Taught Me, The Rider, Eternals) take a remarkable journey through the world of the forgotten and downtrodden in Nomadland, based on the book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder. This film has been hyped up like mad since it was screened at the Venice Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival with many people declaring it as one of the best films of 2020 and a strong Best Picture Oscar contender…yeah, they’re kind of right but keep in mind that this is coming from someone who hasn’t read the book it’s based on. 

            As a film, Nomadland is marvelous albeit a slow burn that probably won’t appeal to everyone. It’s a very performance-focused movie without much of a conflict or plot which to many might sound boring (I found it a bit amusing that there were trailers for Black Widow and Godzilla VS Kong before this movie, trailers for two overblown blockbusters being shown before this slow-paced drama). However, McDormand’s performance as well as her chemistry with real-life nomads that appear in the film as characters that use their real names, keep this movie interesting and engaging all the way through.  

            The film follows Fern (McDormand), a woman who had lost her job after the US Gypsum plant in Empire, Nevada shuts down, and her husband recently died. Shortly after losing her job and husband, Fern decides to sell all of her belongings to buy a van to live in and travel across the country. 

Most of the film revolves around her, what she does for work, and the people she interacts with on her journey. She has a seasonal job at Amazon, works in restaurants for a while, and she also works at an RV park where she interacts with several other nomads (Many of which are real people, not actors!) and never looking back at her old life. 

The film also stars David Strathairn (L.A. Confidential, The Bourne Ultimatum/The Bourne Legacy, Lincoln) as David. 

Overall, Nomadland is an affectionate and gorgeously filmed tribute to nomads everywhere that beautifully captures the anxiety left in the wake of the Great Recession with an excellent Frances McDormand performance on top of it. I would go in with some caution that it isn’t a very plot heavy movie, the pacing can be quite slow at times, and you could make the argument that it’s a film where nothing happens, it’s along the lines of films like Boyhood or Romawhere you’re basically watching a person (or people) live their life and in Nomadland’s case, it’s Frances McDormand as someone living in a van, what she does for work, and the people she comes across on her trip. 

            It’s a film that doesn’t rely on a Three-Act Structure and the best way I can describe it is imagine the TV show Louie if it wasn’t a comedy. Sounds boring, doesn’t it? But replace Louis C.K. with an Oscar-worthy Frances McDormand performance and you got yourself a movie that works, though it may take more than one viewing for some to fully appreciate it, just be warned about that. 

            Much like what I said about News of the World, the scenery in this movie is absolutely beautiful and if you’re watching it on a big screen, it feels like you’re right there in the Badlands with McDormand. It isn’t required to be watched on the big screen, but if you got a theater nearby that’s playing it then go ahead. 

            The acting is the main attraction of Nomadland, specifically from Frances McDormand and surprisingly the non-actors featured in the film as well. As always, McDormand gives 100% whenever she’s onscreen, but there’s also a sense of humanity to her performance this time around that I haven’t seen that often in her other films, I can’t explain it, all I can say is she’s excellent. 

            The real-life nomads featured in this movie feel extremely authentic and almost documentary-esque whenever McDormand interacts with them. Their dialogue feels very unscripted and sound more like they’re speaking from the heart rather than text on a script, it’s as if you, yourself is meeting these nomads whenever they’re introduced and it’s a much better way to portray real people in a movie than what The 15:17 to Paris did. 

            Nomadland was a very pleasant surprise and it well deserves its placement among the best films of 2020. It’s a somber, down-to-earth road trip with nomads with another phenomenal Frances McDormand performance behind the wheel and a relative newcomer director who shows a lot of potential, looking forward to seeing what Chloé Zhao does for the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Eternals. 

            The film is definitely an acquired taste but it’s the right kind of acquired taste that’s worth discussing among others. This is one road trip you don’t want to miss.