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Rating: 4.5 out of 5
The first time I ever learned about nomads was in middle school during world history or geography. I remember that a nomad was a person of a community who moved from place to place. I believe they were called hunter-gatherers, but my memory is hazy since that was back in the day. I think they moved around to hunt for food and find plants that grew in certain seasons. Nomadland is about a van living working nomad who dips out from her hometown after the death of her husband, and the sole workplace in her town shuts down ventures to being “houseless” and traveling around the United States.
In 2011, during the Great Recession, Nomadland follows the life of Fern (McDormand). Fern has recently lost her husband, and the economic collapse of a company town in rural Nevada has left Fern without any employment or benefits. With nowhere to live, Fern converts her van into a home. She works in the Amazon Fulfillment Center when her best friend Linda states that maybe she should become a nomad. She invites Fern to a community she knows in the desert. Liking the prospect and learning surviving skills, Fern hits the road, traveling from town to town, state to state, in search of work opportunities. Through her travels, she meets other kindred spirits and fellow modern-day nomads. As she travels around, she truly learns what the word home really means.
As far as the story of Nomadland really isn’t that great. In the simplest terms, it’s about a woman who lost her husband and pretty much her house during the Great Recession and takes seasonal jobs around the country to survive while living on the very bare minimum. I feel like any poor black person in the hood and ghetto can make this type of movie. What is interesting about the whole plot is seeing Fern move to these places and where life really takes her in her van. We see her being part of a community of people who live at the bare minimum. We see her take a job at the Amazon fulfillment center to work in a park as a cleaner and work in fast food, followed by a sugar beet farm. We travel on a journey through life with Fern, and we see her emotions from one of her friends breaking a plate that she has to fix to trying to connect again but can’t with her family.
Rather than the story, I want to personally give a BIG UP and rousing applause to Chloé Zhao, who directed, wrote, produced, and edited the whole film. Not only did she make a great movie, her eye and direction truly showed. First, the entire film felt like a very well-made documentary for many of the scenes. Zhao made you feel for Fern as she just tried to live through life without her husband and a steady job. Zhao also knows how to make a scene just pop with the scenery because that was some of the best I have ever seen.
Speaking of the scenery, the cinematography of this moving is AMAZING!!! You really get a full sight of how unique a colorful the landscape of the United States is, along with how others are feeling. First, with the scenery, everything is just fantastic to look at. When Fern goes to this park and floats naked in the river, it just seems so peaceful. When she stands on top of the mountain and looks out, it just looks peaceful and lush. Also, in the scene where Fern is at the Cedar Pass Campground in Badlands National Park, and she walks around the massive mounds, you get a sense of the country’s natural beauty. Now for the perception of Fern, the camera does excellent work displaying some of the emotions. When Fren goes for her walk, the atmosphere and tone seem so peaceful. Love how the camera just walks with her as she goes on her stroll and says high to people, even with the dune buggy drive by. We sit in the van with Fern and see how cold she is. It almost makes your own skin shiver. When she sits on this massive mound of sugar beets as the camera moves slowly closer. How about when she goes to a park and sees a big ass tree. Looks like the redwoods. The cinematography just makes you appreciate each scene and what is being shown to you.
As far as the acting goes, McDormand put on a powerful and authentic performance. It was an absolute joy to watch her as Fern. She displayed Fern as a somewhat troubled woman as she lost her home in the recession but one that decides to become resourceful and follow a new path and lifestyle. She shows these emotions as you feel for Fern with the small facial expressions and gestures she makes throughout the movie. You see that she will never take off her wedding ring because she truly loved her husband and has that strong bond. She gets upset when her friend breaks her plate, and you see that she is so used to living in her van that ordinary life isn’t even an option for her. McDormand provided all of this in a great and telling way.
Even though McDormand’s performance was outstanding, the supporting cast that also appeared in the film spoke volumes in this film. David Strathairn as Dave was a gentle soul in the movie. You can see that he really liked Fern, but he would rather spend time with his family once he got sick. I like the cast because they used real-life nomads to give the film even more authenticity. First, Charlene Swankie as Swankie was a straight-up BOSS! When Fern van breaks down, and she asks for help, she straight up tells it how it is and teaches Fern even better survival skills. Homegirl even tells her that her van is ratty, aka its trash. Swankie has cancer that went to her brain, and rather than being in the hospital, homegirl is going to go out the way she wants. Then there is Linda May as Linda who introduces Fern to the community and states that it is the best way to live and travel.
I was pleasantly surprised by Nomadland. I thought it would be this boring movie about people living in one place and moving from place to place. Now the story is like that but what is remarkable is that we go on a journey with Fern as her former life crumbled, and she is living a new life. McDormand’s performance was outstanding, along with the rest of the supporting characters. The cinematography and scenery are one of the best that I have ever seen. Nomadland is definitely a must-watch movie.
