"Nomadland" -- Movie Review

On the second weekend of the 58^th Virtual New York Film Festival, I streamed the new drama by Chloé Zhao, “Nomadland” – the festival’s Centerpiece screening, starring Frances McDormand.

Synopsis

After losing everything late in life, a woman sets out on a nomadic existence throughout America’s southwest. 

Story

In 2011, Empire, Nevada suffered a devastating loss from which it never quite recovered.  Empire was a company town – the sheetrock company employed almost all of its residents.  Eventually, however, it became a victim of the recession and the company went out of business.  As a result, most of the town found themselves unemployed; with no local prospects for new employment opportunities, they abandoned the town in droves – even the United States Post Office gave up on Empire when it dropped the town’s ZIP code.  Empire effectively fell off the map as its population scattered to the four winds. 

Fern (McDormand) was one of those who felt the impact the hardest.  She had spent a number of years employed by this now-defunct company – so was her husband, until his death.  With no job and no husband, there was no reason left for her to stick around Empire, so she modified her modest van – which would now serve as not only her transportation, but also her home – and set out to see if she could start a new life all by herself.  Taking part-time or temporary jobs – many of which were seasonal in nature – was how she scraped out a subsistence. 

Working at an Amazon fulfillment center during the holidays was the best paying job she would get over the course of the year.  Eventually, Fern discovered that there were other people like her in similarly dire situations in their life.  Realizing there was strength in numbers, she would join these people – a tribe who considered themselves nomads because they lived in either vans or Recreational Vehicles and had no fixed address because they were constantly moving around the country.  One of these people was Dave (David Strathairn), whose adult son invited him to live with his own family.  When Dave reluctantly agrees, he invites Fern to join him.  Would Fern be willing to return to a life of somewhat normalcy or would she prefer instead to remain a nomad?

Review

In the nearly two hours of “Nomadland”, writer/director Chloé Zhao does a heroic job of filling every moment of her movie with more heart and humanity than one might think imaginable.  Assisting her in this endeavor is the film’s star, Frances McDormand, who also served as producer.  In this understated performance, McDormand is likely headed towards another nomination for her acting – and she may very well win.  “Nomadland” is an extraordinary story about America in the era of The Great Recession and how this country let down its most loyal and hardest workers. 

In the post-World War II era, Italian filmmakers like Luchino Visconti made popular what was then a new genre of film called neorealism.  A salient argument could be made that “Nomadland” is an American form of neorealism, not only because it is about the country’s poor and working class but also because many in the cast (aside from McDormand and Strathairn, of course) are not professional actors.  With the deeply personal stories that are told in this motion picture, at times it feels like a road picture as documentary; this movie reminds us of the many unseen in America who have fallen through the holes of a social safety net that have always been illusory. 

Like any good director, Zhao has an amazing eye for visual imagery – whether still or moving.  “Nomadland” has sharply contrasting shots that are at times stark and at other times rich and full of life.  While there are some that have maintained that the movie is life-affirming, perhaps a more accurate description might be that it is in fact existentialist in nature.  By its end, one is left heartbroken and devastated, left to wonder what the point of it all is when a lifetime of positive social contributions goes without thanks or reward.