Directed by Chloe Zhao
Starring Frances McDormand, David Strathan
As I continue to try to see movies that are nominated for Golden Globes and maybe in other awards, today I got to see Nomadland.
The story centers around Fern, played by McDormand. She is a widower who loses her job and decides to sell her things and get a van to travel. She takes different jobs as she travels and meets new people who are nomads.
I had a lot of expectations for this film. It is a beautiful character study and a look at a loss through Fern. There are many scenes where the main focus is Fern’s loneliness. Nomads as I learned in the film, is something that some people do as some characters in the film were played by real nomads. I admit that while I liked it, the film did not grab me, at times it felt like the story was going nowhere and in a way it never did. It reminded me of the film About Schmidt, where the lead character gets a van and travels after his wife dies. I bring it up because they are similar but Schmidt’s journey had more interesting situations and characters. But I know that the aims of the movies were not the same and this one could have been just a look at this lifestyle through that character.
The whole film is on McDormand’s shoulder. Her performance is good, she is a great actress and can captivate with her performance, making the audience stay for the ride based on what she is doing on screen. David Strathairn, who I like as an actor, did what he could with the supporting role.
Like I always say, this is just my opinion. The movie has a lot of great reviews and it is a good film but I don’t think is the best one this year.
