This past weekend was a paper-grading weekend. My school requires my department to have one very large research paper every year. It’s the longest essay I assign every year, and this past weekend was when they were collected for grading. As a result, I wasn’t able to really watch anything like I normally do. Of course, this past weekend was the weekend both Nomadland hit Hulu and the intriguing-looking I Care a Lot hit Netflix.
Fortunately, all that work is done now, so I was able to catch up on Nomadland last night.
Based on a nonfiction book, Nomadland is the story of Fern (Frances McDormand), a woman who, having seen the Nevada town she’s lived in for decades dry up and disappear when the local US Gypsum plant closed its doors, takes to the road. Initially getting seasonal work in an Amazon warehouse, she’s living out of her van with a handful of personal possessions. When asked, she insists she is houseless and not homeless. She soon falls in with the nomad crowd, transient Americans for whom the system may have failed them, but they don’t really see it as a curse. They’re happy just driving around the country, taking low skill jobs as necessary to supply themselves with food and gas, and trading what they need from one another. They’re a happy community that don’t see the need to be tied down to any one spot.
And that’s about it for the movie. McDormand and David Strathairn are the only professional actors in the movie. The other nomads are actually playing themselves, and it’s not so much a character study as it is a lifestyle study. Writer/director Chloe Zhao showcases the beauty of the country as Fern enjoys nature, crisscrossing the continent and just enjoying life in a quiet, contemplative way. Offered a chance to settle down somewhere, she never really takes it, always moving on. McDormand’s older, careworn face suggests someone who has seen a lot and is fine with what she’s doing. It’s not out of the question for Fern to find a place to live on a more permanent basis. She just chooses not to.
That is more or less what this movie shows. Yes, people like Fern are victims of economic downturns or other issues that drop people through the cracks in American society, but none of them seem particularly upset by it. They like their lives, preferring “I will see you down the road” to “goodbye,” and showing a real community between the wanderers. There’s something inherently attractive about their lifestyles. The nomads are good to each other, helpful, kind people who just don’t need to stay in one place. They don’t have that need or desire, and they see the beauty of America as a result.
Much of that hinges on McDormand’s performance. Considering some of the actress’s past award-winning or even nominated performances, anyone expecting the fiery personality of her Three Billboards character or just the cheerful determination she showed in Fargo will be surprised and hopefully pleased to see a different character from the actress yet again. McDormand has some real chameleon-like abilities, much like Meryl Streep but without the more over-the-top aspects of some of Streep’s best-known performances. McDormand’s ability to hold the lead while still fading into the background makes many of her films must-sees for movie buffs, though something quiet and contemplative like Nomadland is not for everyone. I really dug it, but I could see this one turning a lot of people off due to the fact that, well, not a whole lot happens in terms of plot. This is a movie about how people live. Those are more about informing the audience than they are challenging the characters.
Grade: A-
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