Review: Nomadland
Frances McDormand plays Fern, who suffers a double tragedy; 1) Her husband dies, and 2) The small Nevada town she lives in essentially closes down due to the foreclosure of the all-important local gypsum plant. Fern decides to pack up and head for the open road with her van as her new home. When running into the daughter of a friend she insists she’s not homeless but ‘houseless’. Along the way Fern gets seasonal work at Amazon and a few things here and there at campsites and the like. She also makes new acquaintances with other ‘nomads’ like her, mostly temporary connections. David Strathairn plays one such acquaintance, and some real-life ‘nomads’ play a version of themselves. The winner of the Best Picture Academy Award, this 2020 film from writer-director Chloe Zhao (who also won Best Director) is a great vehicle for Frances McDormand, who deservingly won Best Actress. Given that many of the people McDormand interacts with aren’t professional actors, you might think it’s a...