Nomadland: A Look at the Forgotten Silent Majority
Chloe Zhao's Nomadland is a romantic love letter of life on the road. The film celebrates the American West through a balance of fact and fiction with Frances McDormand as an invented character surrounded by real people. McDormand plays Fern, a 60-something Nevada widow who lost her house when the town of Empire closed down, leading to its residents scattered. Fern now travels around in her new home, a run-down van.
Nomadland is based on "Nomadland: Surviving America in the 21st Century" but it not a straight adaptation of it. Zhao sets out to embrace the wanderers who pick up odds jobs and reject the ideals of the American dream. They have newfound independence in a place built by people who thought the same by breaking comfort and taking a chance on the open frontier.
Zhao doesn't try to tell you what to think or what the message is, instead she lets the audience decide what they think about this lifestyle and the people. Fern's new life has many dangers including freezing to death, hard-to-find aid, and food, ad isolation. This film plays with the idea of people needing structures and those who break out of it. Fern is in the middle ground of it and hasn't decided which lifestyle she prefers. She is testing out the nomadic way of life by following those more experienced. She doesn't want to leave her home, but staying is not an option.
Nomadland is filled with freedom and frustrations as we travel along with America the beautiful with Fern. Fern takes us through cold South Dakota to the warm desert. Among the nomads, Fern meets a man named Dave who stands out. He is gentle and seems open to Fern. Within this community, people seem to make friends easily and are helpful. Even though Fran and Dave are moving in the same direction they are both at different speeds with Fern beginning her journey and Dave ending his.
Zhao is capturing what compels people to abandon the norm and head out to the open road. Through this process, she shows the ever-changing employment of the characters. They are hosting campers and working at tourist stops. She humanizes the people we see in these unusual jobs that we never think more about. The nomads head to where the jobs are that almost dictates a migratory pattern for them. The characters are compelled to get what they can from a gig economy after the fallout of the Great Recession. Normally these characters who are in their middle age or older would be shown with their grandchildren living the normal American lifestyle instead they are working shifts at Amazon and Home Depot.
Watching Nomadland feels like going on a journey through America. The movie specializes in empathy and introspection. The partnership of McDormand and Zhao creates a beautiful character that perfectly melds into this real scenario. Though Fern isn't real she serves as a connector to the real nomads and helps tell their story to audiences who wouldn't have known any of this was happening inside the country. There aren't any distracting CGI and action scenes to take away from the rawness of the film. The beautiful cinematography feels like looking at one big sunset.
Nomadland looks onto people that have no safety net and were once the backbone of America. In an industry that often makes films about itself and selling propaganda of the American dream, this feels like a breath of fresh air. Zhao is incredible at chronicling forgotten America at its most bare state. It is a definitive depiction of post-recession America and the people who have been let down time and time again by Washington. The scene where Fern visits a foreclosed factory and abandoned homes shows all that has been lost. Even with all the loss, there is a soulful reflection that feels like a place of healing.
Zhao is a master at capturing people and their stories in such an authentic way that is usually water-downed in movies. She connects these humanistic moments with the beauty of nature that creates joy and heartache. Her portrait of America is beautiful but devastating at the same time. It reveals the consequences of an unjust system that bailed out banks before the working people but shows us the celebration of life that keeps people going as they leave and reunite throughout the story.