Nomadland (2020)
Our protagonist, Fern (Frances McDormand), is suddenly faced with two calamities: her husband has died, and the plant at which they both had been employed for years closes. Since the plant was the chief employer in the town, everything soon dries up, and is literally taken off the map. Soon Fern decides to sell her belongings, buy a van, and take off on the road looking for work. She initially takes seasonal employment at an Amazon regional center, then when that ends, she moves on looking for other work. Along the way she meets dozens of other working nomads who are traveling the highways in their vehicles likewise looking for temporary employment in order to maintain their vagabond lifestyle.
Fern quickly learns from others how to survive on the road. Some of the featured true life motorized nomads were interesting, what with the personal stories from these non actors ringing true. She meets the real life Bob Wells, who is something of a guru in the traveling lifestyle. There are a couple of others she meets who play an important part in her education. She eventually meets David (David Strathairn), a fellow traveler. After several chance meetings and a shared job David expresses feelings for Fern, and invites her to stay with him at his son’s guest house. Fern declines, and soon heads off for the road, where she seems to feel comfortable.
If one is expecting something to happen, it really never does, apart from a minor back story revelation which gives some clue as to Fern’s motives. The film teetered between a documentary and a drama, with the documentary portion being more engaging. The picture will appeal to those who enjoy slices of life and poignant human stories. Otherwise it’s a bit of a slog. We see Fern cooking on her single burner stove, she bundles up to sleep, she takes endless aimless walks in the western outdoors, all of which eventually becoming uninteresting, causing the viewer to wonder where the film is going.
The cinematography was good, but there was too much of it. It seemed like every frame consisted of a wide vista shot of the American West. They were impressive at first, then became repetitive. It's almost as if the photography of the landscapes was intended to make up for the lack of story. The editing soon felt aimless. The minimal single piano score fit very nicely.
Reportedly writer/director Chloe Zhao was simultaneously working on this movie along with the upcoming MCU film, Eternals. Whether the film would have changed any, given Zhao’s full attention, it’s hard to say. I haven’t read the book, but it would be interesting to have seen this as a pure documentary, without the narrative’s need to be attentive to a protagonist.
Doc’s rating: 5/10
Last edited by GulfportDoc; 03-01-21 at 10:36 AM.