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(There is an eventual, tentative romance, but that development is in the spirit of Zhao’s exploration of human connection.) The grief that drives Fern is only gradually revealed, through objects and moments, and is addressed in tandem with the pros and cons of the nomadic lifestyle. There aren’t any grand revelations or twists to juice up the drama. Like The Rider, Nomadland is exploring a larger theme, but there’s no sense of moralizing, or some greater lesson for Fern to learn. As for Fern, Zhao (who also scripted the film) slowly teases out her reasons for traveling, letting scattered beats coalesce until, when things are finally made explicit, the audience has already had a chance to piece together why Fern has chosen to uproot her life. May dreams of building an “Earthship,” a sustainable home. One woman tells a story of a friend who died before being able to take a trip on the boat he worked so hard to buy. The specific reasons why they’ve chosen to become nomads differ, but they all boil down to a sense of abandonment by or rejection of the American Dream. (The Rubber Tramp Rendezvous really exists, too.) Linda May, Charlene Swankie, and Bob Wells, who all feature in Bruder’s book, move in and out of Fern’s orbit, helping her find new jobs or places to park, and helping the audience understand what would compel someone to take on the nomadic lifestyle. Photo: Searchlight PicturesĪpart from David Strathairn as another nomad who constantly crosses Fern’s path, the rest of the characters are, as in Zhao’s other films, real people playing versions of themselves. As one job ends and she prepares to move on, a fellow nomad suggests she come to the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous, a gathering of nomads in the desert, which will provide not only a sense of community, but how-to seminars for those new to the lifestyle.įrances McDormand in Nomadland.

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Having left her home in Empire, Nevada, after its economic collapse - an opening card informs the audience that even the Empire ZIP code was discontinued - she lives out of her van, taking odd jobs to make ends meet, most notably in an Amazon warehouse. It also doesn’t feel any less real.įern (McDormand) is a nomad. But for all the star power McDormand brings to Zhao’s latest film, Nomadland, based on Jessica Bruder’s 2017 nonfiction book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century, the story Zhao weaves doesn’t buckle under that pressure. They certainly don’t feature anyone as recognizable as McDormand, who recently won an Oscar for her performance in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. They almost exclusively star first-time actors, usually playing versions of themselves.

Zhao’s films thus far - Songs My Brothers Taught Me and The Rider - both paint as realistic a portrait of the world as possible without becoming documentaries. It has been updated for the film’s streaming release.įrances McDormand seems like an anomaly in the world of writer-director Chloé Zhao, whose most high-profile credit, Marvel’s Eternals, has yet to be released. Editor’s note: This review first appeared as part of Polygon’s coverage of the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival.