“Nomadland” is a quiet, devastating film about loss, freedom, and the people we choose to be with when the world stops caring. Directed by Chloé Zhao, it follows Fern, a woman in her sixties played by Frances McDormand, who loses her job and home after the closure of the US Gypsum plant in Empire, Nevada. She sells everything and buys a van, becoming one of the modern-day nomads who roam the western United States in search of seasonal work.
The film is based on Jessica Bruder’s 2017 nonfiction book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century. Zhao directs from her own screenplay, and she brings a documentary sensibility to a narrative feature, casting real-life nomads as themselves in fictional roles. Linda May, Swankie, and Bob Wells all appear as versions of their own lives.
Trailer, via SearchlightPictures.
Fern’s Van
Fern’s journey is the spine of the film. She takes seasonal work at an Amazon warehouse in the winter, then moves on to a job as a camp host at the Cedar Pass Campgrounds in Badlands National Park in South Dakota. Her van is her home, her office, and her coffin all at once. McDormand plays Fern with a stillness that feels earned. This is not a performance of grief; it is a portrait of a woman who has accepted her circumstances and is simply doing what she can.
The film’s central conflict is Fern’s relationship with the road itself. She is unprepared for it, and the movie spends its middle stretch showing her learning basic survival skills from other nomads. Swankie, played by herself, chastises Fern for her lack of readiness. Their friendship is the heart of the film. Swankie reveals she has a cancer diagnosis and a short life expectancy. She plans to make good memories on the road rather than waste away in a hospital. Fern listens, and the bond between them is tender without ever feeling sentimental.
Dave and the Family Plot
Dave, played by David Strathairn, is another nomad Fern meets at the desert rendezvous organized by Bob Wells. They dance together there, and later they work at restaurant jobs at Wall Drug in South Dakota. One night, Dave’s son visits the restaurant, telling him his wife is pregnant and asking him to meet his grandchild. Dave is hesitant, but Fern encourages him to go. Dave suggests that she come with him, but Fern declines.
This subplot is where the film’s themes come into sharpest focus. Fern has chosen the road over family. She has no children, no grandchildren, no one waiting for her at the end of the day. The film does not judge her for this. It simply shows the cost of her decision, and it shows how Fern carries that weight with a kind of grace.
Linda, Swankie, and the Desert Community
Linda, played by herself, is Fern’s first friend on the road. She invites Fern to the desert rendezvous, and Fern initially declines. But as the weather turns cold and she struggles to find work, she changes her mind. The community there is a support system for fellow nomads, and the film captures it with warmth and honesty. These are people who have lost everything, but they have found each other.
Gay DeForest, Angela Reyes, Carl R. Hughes, Douglas G. Soul, Ryan Aquino, Teresa Buchanan, and Karie Lynn McDermott Wilder all play versions of themselves. Zhao gives them scenes that feel improvised, and their presence grounds the film in lived experience. These are not actors playing roles; they are people sharing their stories.
The Technical Craft
Zhao’s direction is patient and precise. She lets scenes breathe, and she trusts her actors to find the truth in their lines. The cinematography is beautiful without being showy. The film is set largely in the American West, and the landscapes are used as characters in their own right. The sound design is subtle, with ambient noise carrying more emotional weight than any dialogue.
The editing is seamless. The film moves between Fern’s present-day travels and flashbacks to her life before the recession, and the transitions are smooth. The film does not explain itself; it shows you what you need to know.
Why It Works
“Nomadland” succeeds because it refuses to romanticize its subject. Fern is not a hero. She is a survivor, and the film treats her as such. The movie is not about escaping the rat race. It is about finding a way to live when the system has failed you.
There are several reasons why the film works:
- Frances McDormand’s performance anchors the entire enterprise.
- The real-life nomads bring authenticity that scripted actors could not replicate.
- Zhao’s direction is restrained and respectful of its subjects.
- The flashbacks provide context without slowing the momentum.
- The ending lands without resorting to sentimentality.
The film is not perfect. Some of the flashbacks feel like exposition padding, and the middle stretch drags slightly. But these are minor quibbles in a movie that is otherwise a masterclass in emotional restraint.
Final Word
“Nomadland” is a film about aging, loneliness, and the strange comfort of impermanence. It is a love letter to the people who live outside the structures that most of us take for granted. It is also a reminder that even when the world is falling apart, there is still beauty to be found in the small moments.
The film won Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress at the 93rd Academy Awards. Zhao became the second woman and first Asian woman to win Best Director, and McDormand became the first woman and fourth person to win Academy Awards for both acting and producing. Those accolades are deserved. The film is a triumph of craft, empathy, and storytelling.
It is a film that rewards patience and attention. It is not a movie you watch while scrolling through your phone. It is a movie you sit with, and it stays with you long after it ends.
“Nomadland” is a masterpiece.
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