Delayed Reaction: Nomadland

Premise: After her factory town shut down, a woman adopts a nomadic lifestyle, living out of her van.

 

Even though this isn't my favorite movie from the last "year", I hope Nomadland is the Best Picture winner at this upcoming Oscars. I've long believed in the idea that Best Picture winners shouldn't be seen as the best movie of their years. Instead, they are a reflection of that year and what was seen as important at that moment. It's hard to find a more 2020 movie than Nomadland. It's somehow both aspirational, with the wide-open spaces and open roads, and a sad reminder of the state of things, set in the shadow of the Great Recession and filled with economic panic.

 

Nomadland is a movie I'm very sad I didn't find a way to see in theaters. It's just not the same watching at home when I can pause and have so many distractions. This isn't an event heavy movie. The best moments happen in between. It's a collection of smaller adventures following Fern (Frances McDormand), a woman who moves into her van after her factory town shut down thanks to the Great Recession. She's living the life of a nomad, which means finding menial odd jobs throughout the year and living cheap from her van, finding assorted locations that she can set up shop in. It's not a glamourous life, but there is an appeal to it. She can go anywhere she wants. Every day is a new adventure. After a year spent mostly confined to my apartment not meeting any new people face-to-face, Fern's life is practically taunting me for 2 hours. That said, I could never do this lifestyle. I enjoy too many of the little comforts in life. Hell, I'm barely comfortable with the freedom of a laptop instead of a desktop.

 

Writer/director Chloe Zhou's strategy of casting a few professional actors around mostly amateurs really works for this. Check the cast list. Every actor except McDormand goes by their own name (and Fern isn't that far off). At times, the movie feels only slightly removed from being an Anthony Bourdain style travel series starring Frances McDormand. It's so delightful without ever feeling lightweight.

 

I suspect when all is said and done, Nomadland won't end up winning Best Picture. It still feels like a movie that critics are trying to sneak in as a frontrunner due to a paucity of traditional options. This feels much more like a Florida Project than a Moonlight. The filmmaking is wonderful but not showy. It's packed with emotions, but they are quiet emotions. I hope I'm wrong, because this is a great movie and a fine representative of 2020.

 

Verdict: Strongly Recommend