Review: Nomadland

McDormand stars as Fern, learning how to be a nomad

In 2017 journalist Jessica Bruder published Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century, a non-fiction book that followed retirees who lived in vans and traveled around the country to find work after the global financial crisis. 

Actor Frances McDormand read it, bought the rights to option the book for a movie, and persuaded Chloe Zhao to write and direct it. They took the book and included some of the actual nomads in there, such as Linda May and Bob Wells, who runs workshops on how to live independently in their vans.

Originally McDormand was thinking of teaching these nomads how to act, but instead she and fellow actor David Strathairn embedded themselves with them, which makes Nomadland a kind of docu-drama. And it won Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress in the 93rd Academy Awards in 2021.

Many scenes show the vastness of the country

McDormand throws herself completely in the role of Fern (not based on someone in Bruder's book), a widow who used to live in Empire, Nevada, where she and her husband worked in a mining company. But it went bankrupt and Empire lost its postal code; people had to leave and go elsewhere.

She packs up some stuff and lives in her her van, and meets people like Linda who give her pointers how to be a nomad, with tips on on working at Amazon, how to manage an RV park, and later processing food or making fast food. It gives viewers an insight into what it's like to work in these low-paying jobs, some of them seasonal, and how tight money is.

The audience also gets tips on how to live in a van, including having a bucket to go to the bathroom...

When fellow transient people meet, they are all friendly and happy to share, there is hardly any competition; one gets the sense there is good energy there.

Fern drifts from job to job, and one wonders how this will end, but that's the point -- these people need to survive financially and these gigs are the only things they can get, and drive to the next one, wherever it may be.

The nomad community is kind and helpful

However, another interesting characteristic about Fern is that she is fiercely independent. She is given several opportunities to live in a house and have some security, even from her own sister, and a fellow transient guy who likes her, but Fern refuses; she would rather wander on her own and not feel obliged to others.

The cinematography of Nomadland shows the winding long roads, the vastness of the outdoor space, and how humans are so small in the country. 

Zhao is sympathetic to these nomads and it's fascinating seeing her tell their story by letting them be their authentic selves. After watching Nomadland, one wonders if they could live like these nomads, but perhaps it's not something you think about until circumstances forces you into that situation. 

It also reminds you to be kind to others, as they might literally be surviving day by day and just need a break. While it's the life they have chosen, they are just trying to live life on their own terms, which makes them happy.

Nomadland (2020)

Written and directed by Chloe Zhao

108 minutes