‘Nomadland’ Review: TIFF 2020

Nomadland is a 2020 film written, directed, and edited by Chloe Zhao. Her third feature continues her spotlight on the unseen parts of the American countryside through personal stories and shining a light on the less fortunate and who this movie calls, the true modern-day pioneers. Starring a collection of what we are to believe are actual nomads, the lead performance from Frances McDormand in what I see as a slick balance between her comedic offerings like Fargo and the more heartfelt like Three Billboards. She offers charm and heart as her story unfolds and viewers truly understand her plight to remember the people she lost and the spaces that made her who she is.

For me, the word I keep coming back to is purity, the film echoes the ideology of pioneering in a truly wholesome way. I think of Terrence Malik’s Days of Heaven for the closest comparison and also Adam McKay’s later films like The Big Short or Vice where he was able to focus on the members of a story that may have been under shadow or away from the light but truly shape our understanding of what truly happens in the world around us. I think this purity shines through in the scenes when Fern (McDormand) is travelling the country and can see the country that is always talked about but never shown. She is almost a peace with a world that constantly is not at peace with her place in it but she pushes onward.

For me, my favourite shot of the movie comes about 2/3rds into the film as McDormand is staying with David Strathairn’s character and after a troublesome night for her, she is out in the morning air with her van and simply looks across the fence to the house. She gazes across the liminal space as she does many times throughout the movie and looks to what she could have. The idea that comfort and ease could be hers but she pushes on towards the road less travelled truly shines a light towards her dream of being independent. The moving between different spaces continues throughout the film, indoors vs outdoors, natural lighting vs artificial and we see our characters constantly pushed in between. Side note: The amazon factory got me a bit, really makes you think that the big corporation was the only consistent solution for her and it’s true for a lot of people, not just her.

Zhao truly shines in showcasing the almost heavenly qualities of the world around us. Her push for using natural light gives the film a truly magical feel in the sense you understand what you are seeing and nothing is being hidden from you. While I’m sure there were filmmaking techniques used, the care and passion hide it all to show an honest look into these people’s lives from Zhao’s lens. Of note, the cinematography is from Joshua James Richard who is Zhao’s collaborator on her previous 3 features and the Americana trilogy she has made over the last 5 years all showcase this idea of the ideal America that lives in the world’s imagination. It’s in our imagination when young kids wear Lakers jersey’s when you see a New York Yankees hat. The ideals of the American dream are all missing in its most iconic forms but I would wholeheartedly argue the film strips the corporate values away from the American dream and show you it’s beating heart underneath.

‘Nomadland’ is scheduled for a December 4th release date from Fox Searchlight. Key part being scheduled but I would love to see it pushed to match Eternals by Marvel Studios release date so I can make a Chloe Zhao double feature.