Nomadland Review

This review is one of many movie reviews that I have written over the last two years that are available to read on my Letterboxd profile. I've been reviewing every miniseries and movie I watch since I created the profile, creating a giant catalog of reviews to share my opinion of some of my favorite (or possibly least favorite) movies, along with learning to improve the way I communicate my thoughts on movies. If you like my style of movie reviews and are curious to see what else I've watched over the last two years, check out my profile if you want to read more and see what movies and shows I would recommend.

In my opinion, Nomadland is not phenomenal. That doesn't mean it's not deserving of its Oscar wins, but it's not phenomenal. There's nothing about Nomadland as a film that truly reaches deep within my soul to affect me on a storytelling level in a way that no other film ever has, but at the same time, that's not really this film's goal. Nomadland simply exists to encapsulate the experiences of a person living every single moment in a spontaneous and unpredictable way, absorbing the minutiae of life in everything they do and see. The best way to describe the film is meditative, with some of the most gorgeous film scenery I've seen in a long time highlighting the quiet and reflective nostalgia of moving forward. There are moments where the lead character, Fern, will move through her life energetically, and there are other times where the film allows her to simply take in the feeling of the moment, and the direction is superb enough to allow the audience to feel those moments with her.

Frances McDormand gives possibly her most lovable performance here. To me, it's similar to something that Chris Stuckmann talked about in his review for The Intern, where an actor like Robert de Niro typically plays characters with some sort of harder edge to them and once in a while gets the chance to just have a role that's fun and a kind and warm and open character, and to me, this is McDormand's moment to allow her to do just that. There's something about her energy with every other cast member in this movie, along with the equally phenomenal performances from everyone else, that makes this film feel like a combination documentary and narrative film to me, much like I talked about with The Dig. I don't even see her in this movie, I just see her character and her friends, and that is either incredible acting, incredible direction, or both.

I genuinely believe the elements of this movie that won Oscars deserved them. I think Chloe Zhao is a revelation in the direction world in multiple ways, McDormand's unique yet absorbing performance is still just as captivating as her previous work, and the film itself is perfect for the final choice for Best Picture. That being said, while I loved all of these things and adored the scenery and the landscapes that were so authentically captured it felt like you could just walk through the screen of my local theater (in the first time I've been to that theater since Birds of Prey), I just didn't think the storyline was anything to write home about. It's an existential movie capturing the limited time that one has to truly enjoy the life they want to live, but it doesn't really do that much of a deep dive into the psyches of each character to get that message across. Its priority is clearly atmosphere, and in that aspect, Nomadland absolutely succeeds.

Letter Grade: A-