Chad’s Grade: B+
It’s safe to say that 2020 was a strange year for movie-going. The coronavirus pandemic shuttered movie theatres across the globe along with a fiercely divided presidential election and the Black Lives Matter protests. For many, attending a movie in a theatre was not a viable option and was sadly becoming a relic of the BC (before coronavirus) era.
Then there was the serendipitous rise of the streaming services like Disney Plus, HBO Max, and Paramount Plus, in addition to Netflix. Why venture out into the movie theatre petri dish when you could enjoy plenty of content from the safety of your own home?
In this chaos, Nomadland was released with little fanfare in a limited theatrical run and on PVOD/Streaming services. My viewing experience with the 2021 Best Picture winner was on Hulu as the roommate & I watched the well-reviewed film on a winter Friday night. The roommate fell fast asleep about 20 minutes in, but I was fascinated by this quiet and unassuming film. I had to watch it a few more times to fully absorb the impact, while my roommate never cared to finish it.
The film is an adaptation of Jessica Bruder’s non-fiction novel “Nomaland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century.” The movie follows Fern (played by a wonderful Frances McDormand), a sixty-something woman grieving the loss of her husband. Once her hometown of Empire shutters for good, due to the 2008 Great Recession, Fern moves into her van and is drawn to the modern Nomad life, journeying through the American Midwest. Along the way, she meets fellow nomads Linda May, Charlene Swankie, and Dave (an equally strong David Strathairn.)
It’s a simple premise, so if you’re looking for a plot-heavy film (like my roommate), you may want to look elsewhere. There are only two professional actors (Frances McDormand and David Strathairn), with the remaining cast played by real people. Both Linda May & Charlene Swankie play heightened versions of themselves, and Bob Wells, a real-life leader in the nomad community, appears in the film. This gives the film an almost documentary feel to the narrative as shots linger on close-ups of real nomads recounting their tragic backstories.
The movie was a passion project for Francis McDormand, who optioned the 2017 non-fiction novel and handpicked writer/director Chloe Zhao. This is one of McDormand’s finest performances as she projects a guarded, stubborn-like strength behind a stoic face. Yet her big eyes are constantly searching her surroundings, and occasionally, she lets a warm smile escape. McDormand wordlessly shows how this woman would be drawn to such a solitary life. There’s a heartbreaking scene where Fern returns to her shuttered hometown, wandering through a closed factory and her once lively house. It’s no wonder she won an Oscar for her performance.
Director Chloe Zhao brings her unique filmmaking stamp to the film. She has a light, unobtrusive touch similar to Sofia Coppola or Terence Malick. Zhao’s camera contrasts between tight close-ups of actors with broad, beautiful landscape shots. There is a languid pace to the narrative as McDormand interacts with real-life locals. The only time the film has any urgency is her scenes with Dave, played by David Strathairn. Dave meets the guarded Fern on her travels, and the pair strike up a friendship. When Dave decides to settle down with his family, he implores Fern to stay with him, leaving the Nomad life behind.
And this is where Zhao’s film may frustrate many viewers like my roommate. The scenes between Dave and Fern, while warm and endearing, seem like they belong in a different movie. Zhao and McDormand are much more interested in highlighting Fern’s interaction with the real-life Nomad community. There’s an attempt to blend a movie narrative within the conventions of a documentary, and it almost works. But Zhao has endless shots of Fern roaming through impossibly beautiful snapshots of the American Midwest that stops the movie’s slight storytelling cold.
I enjoyed this quiet melancholy story that doesn’t bang you over the head with its themes. Yet, the movie drew criticism from the real-life nomad community that felt the film romanticized their unique lifestyle. But to Zhao’s credit, she contrasts those expansive vistas of the American Midwest with the cramped quarters of Fern’s tiny van. And McDormand’s performance is so raw that she’s shown using the bathroom…twice. When a former high school student asks Fern if she’s homeless, Fern fiercely replies, “Houseless, not homeless.” The phrase is powerful but could be viewed as an oversimplification of the wanderlust life of a nomad.
It will be curious to see Chloe Zhao bring her unique sensibilities to the heavily produced world of big-budget filmmaking. She’s directing Marvel’s “The Eternals,” complete with a bevy of A-list stars and complicated special effects. I hope that more directors like Zhao can inject these larger-than-life franchises with the human moments shown in Nomadland.
THE 2021 BEST PICTURE NOMINEES:
The Father
Judas & The Black Messiah
Mank
Minari
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
DID IT DESERVE TO WIN?
I’m going to say yes, although “Promising Young Woman” was a close runner-up. It’s almost a toss-up, but Academy voters always choose dramas over sharp-witted comedies like “PYW.” Nomadland also had the momentum of two historic Oscar wins: Chloe Zhao became the second woman and first woman of color to win the best director’s prize. And Francis McDormand won her third best actress Oscar tying with Meryl Streep for the second most decorated actress. Katherine Hepburn still holds the record with four best actress Oscar wins. Nomadland collected a total of three Oscars for the night: Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress.
I quite enjoyed both “Mank” and “Judas &The Back Messiah,” but this was the wrong year for the more auteur-driven fare. It was a strange year for filmmaking, and the bizarre Academy Awards broadcast from Union Station during the pandemic reflected the industry in upheaval. The subdued and overlong ceremony strangely featured no clips from the nominated films. An odd choice as the theme of the night was supposed to be the return of movie theatre experience.
In the end, sometimes, the best picture winners mirror the state of the world. There’s a beautiful shot in Nomadland where Fern carries a lantern across a desert landscape during dusk sunset. I think that scene was a perfect metaphor for many trying to survive the tumultuous 2020 year.