"’Dedicated to the ones who had to depart. See you down the road.’
“These words appear on a title card at the end of Chloé Zhao's hypnotic and humane Nomadland, an adaptation of Jessica Bruber's acclaimed non-fiction book about the fall-out of the 2008 Great Recession and the lives of financially struggling United States citizens living like nomads in their RVs. Zhao's masterfully directed film, which she also edited, wrote and co-produced, follows a fictionalized composite transient character named Fern (played with delicate, haunting grace by the great Frances McDormand) for a little over a year. The film has received well-deserved accolades for many reasons. The pacing, Joshua James Richards' striking cinematography, the way Zhao deftly has a well-known film star interacting with several non-professionals who share real stories from their lives. Most of all though, Nomadland emerges as one of the most powerful films about grief ever made.
“We learn early on that not only has Fern's husband has died, but her whole town (Empire, Nevada) has as well, due to a devastating 2011 factory shutdown. The town's zip code is discontinued. When we first see Fern, she is putting her belongings in a storage facility. She holds a jacket that belonged to her husband and quietly cries. This loss hangs over Fern as she travels from place to place, accepting seasonal and menial jobs and roughing it during cold nights in her van. Many scenes show her alone, looking pensive and shaken. And yet what keeps Nomadland from becoming too maudlin or too much of a downer is the way Fern finds happy moments with those living in the RV community.
“The film's most indelible moments have Fern talking with and listening to people such as Linda May, one of the real-life subjects of Bruber's book, and, most unforgettably, a woman dying of cancer named Swankie. We learn why some of these folks now live on the road, from a PTSD sufferer who needs serenity to another person who longs to connect with nature. Zhao directs Fern's fleeting yet meaningful connections with them with warmth and welcome compassion. These interactions help Fern discover an inner-peace and invite her to connect with her natural surroundings. She rejects an invitation from a possible love interest (played by a solid David Strathairn, the only other real recognizable name in the cast) to return to traditional domestic living. While visiting him, she sneaks out at night to sleep in her nearby van. The nomad life calls.
“The film does not sugarcoat or romanticize Fern's nomadic existence, but it does not pour on the misery either. As with her terrific previous film The Rider (another offering with a docudrama feel and non-professional actors), Zhao finds the dignity and humanity in each resilient person on screen. The movie walks the impressive tightrope of being a rich character study that gives one of the best film actresses ever a remarkable star turn, and a naturalistic documentary-style look at real people living the nomadic way of life. Ultimately though, Nomadland is about a woman finding the strength to keep moving down the road and living and surviving on her own terms.”
Brian E. Wilson lives in Chicago and has written about film and pop culture for the blog Wonders in the Dark. He works as a librarian and has served on the Caldecott Committee and writes about picture books on his blog Mr. Brian's Picture Book Picks. He reviews audiobooks for Booklist magazine.
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