Frances McDormand, lead character in “Nomadland”
By John Tustin
Nomadland won the 2021 Oscar for Best Picture, and as someone who has not watched any other movies that have been made in the past year, I have no right to say if it was deserving of the Oscar. I have very mixed feelings about this film, teetering between pretty great, to a less enthusiastic “fine”. The premise alone is a double edged sword; it’s an unexplored American phenomenon that has only recently been recognized because of the culture developed around it over the past decade. However, the catch is that because the film wants to accurately portray the “van-dwelling lifestyle”, the situations have to stay very grounded in reality. On the other hand, if your taste leans towards other genres, you may consider choices such as those Classic Movies on DVD. And if you are looking for the best streaming platform to watch your favorite movies, you may check out 123movie.
Basically the movie is about a woman who lives a nomadic lifestyle in her van, which initially sounds very intriguing. I was actually expecting Fern (our main character) to travel all across America encountering different people, settings, and situations. I was a little disappointed to discover while watching the movie that the script had Fern essentially stay in the desert the whole time, and that it contained very few characters.
In truth, Nomadland is pretty depressing, and a slow burn at that. It made me not want to get old, and begin fearing death. Still, it’s kind of amazing that a mere movie could have that effect on me. While this film is depressing, it’s no Schindler’s List. Nomadland centers around Fern and only Fern. The narrative is only concerned with Fern’s (existential) journey. Not one character shares the spotlight with Fern. Even when they’re on screen, they just feel like forgettable strangers passing by. And that’s on purpose (I think). A nomad lifestyle doesn’t have you establish roots in any place you go, so you only make a brief impression on the people you meet. This scenario exudes an extremely lonely tone, a mood that is repeatedly reinforced with the same visual juxtaposition: Fern going from being surrounded by people, to Fern being utterly alone.
It’s implied that the movie begins shortly after Fern’s husband (Bo) has died. After his death, Fern lives a nomadic lifestyle in her van going from job to job and place to place. She can’t quite get over Bo’s death and tries her best to get away from the ghost town of Empire, Nevada which had been her home with Bo for most of her life. Fern’s sister mentions that she ran off with Bo when she was young, and married him only a couple of months after meeting him. By the time we meet Fern, she is an older woman about in her 50’s. Her life revolved around Bo and the tiny town of Empire. So when Empire is abandoned after its only industry—a gypsum plant—shuts down and Bo passes away, Fern is left with no job, no money and no home. That’s how she becomes a nomad and tries to be as self-sufficient as a rootless senior citizen can be in the desert of Nevada.
Fern seems to have always been a bit of a wandering gypsy according to her sister, who reveals how Fern deliberately left home at an early age, along with the fact that she never really fit in, because she always spoke the truth. The message the film tries to get across is that a “home” isn’t necessarily a house/apartment, that happiness can come even within an unstable lifestyle, and that Fern is happiest when she’s on the road, essentially being true to her inherent nature.
But… oh my god, Fern looks utterly miserable. The way she lived also looked miserable, not to mention that she mainly stays in the desert during the movie so it doesn’t look like she’s constantly on the move, actively seeking the next adventure in her life. Also, even if she’s been a bit wild and nonconforming since she was a kid, Fern still appears forced into this lifestyle. She lost everything that could have kept her more socioeconomically stable, then had to learn to get by on the road with little to no money. I’m not saying that a van-dwelling lifestyle is necessarily bad, but when your circumstances are like Fern’s, it does not look like fun.
Moreover, Fern doesn’t really convey a sense that she is enjoying what is going on. The only time Fern looks happy is when she’s talking to people, but due to her lifestyle there are long periods of time when she is alone. I feel the movie could have sold it’s message better if Fern actually got to explore the country, frequently met new people, and had diverse experiences. But instead, Fern’s life is shown as nothing more than a mundane routine for borderline survival.
All the actors are excellent in this movie, immersing us in this 21st century, post-recession subculture. Fern especially sells the authenticity of the story, making it feel real. There’s also a political message in here somewhere that’s pretty easy to see, but politics makes my brain hurt so I’m not going to say what it is.
I am not going to spoil the ending, although I will say that I liked certain things that were said, but not how everything ended. Fern’s character-arc is fully resolved at the end of the film, and that’s nice for what it is. I did feel, however, as if the director allowed a single conversation to conveniently bring her character arc to a close in a way that wasn’t carefully set up or gradual. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with this usually, but the fact that I had to sit through a movie without any type of build-up or climax just to have the main character’s story arc end with one conversation left me sour. This snap resolution made me feel like I wasted my time.
Because of this, Nomadland doesn’t really have a lot of rewatchability. It’s an affecting experience definitely, but it’s not something that somebody will actively want to put on to see it again. I talked about the negatives of this movie a lot, largely because it won the Oscar for Best Picture. Although it is now a feature film that has earned global recognition and had many praises thrown at it. I just personally felt that it simply wasn’t all that, and wanted to discuss some real problems I had with Nomadland as an example of good filmmaking.