Nomadland is a 2020 American drama film directed by Chloe Zhao, who also wrote, edited, and co-produced. The film is based on the 2017 non-fiction book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder, and stars Frances McDormand as a woman who leaves her small town to travel around the American Midwest.
The film had its world premiere on September 11, 2020, at the Venice Film Festival, where it won the Golden Lion. It is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on December 4, 2020, by Searchlight Pictures. The film was acclaimed by critics, with major praise drawn towards Zhao's screenplay and direction, as well as McDormand's performance.
Frances McDormand and director Chloe Zhao met a day before the 33rd Independent Spirit Awards in March 2018 and instantly wanted to do a film together. Filming for Nomadland took place over four months in fall 2018, with writer-director Zhao splitting time between set and pre-production for Eternals (2021).
McDormand, Zhao, and other crew members lived out of vans over the course of a production. David Strathairn, and real-life nomads Linda May, Charlene Swankie, and Bob Wells, also star. McDormand, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey, and Zhao produced the film.
"Following the economic collapse of a company town in rural Nevada, Fern (Frances McDormand) packs her van and sets off on the road exploring a life outside of conventional society as a modern-day nomad. The third feature film from director Chloe Zhao, Nomadland features real nomads Linda May, Swankie, and Bob Wells as Fern's mentors and comrades in her exploration through the vast landscape of the American West.
In case you worried movies would feel alien and unrelatable in the middle of a pandemic, here’s 58 seconds of Frances McDormand taking a walk, alone — an activity we’ve all become familiar with over the past six months. It’s the teaser trailer for Nomadland, Chloe Zhao’s follow-up to her acclaimed 2017 film The Rider.
The adaptation of Jessica Bruder’s nonfiction book on people traveling the U.S. to look for work stars McDormand (in her first role since winning a second Oscar for Three Billboards) along with David Strathairn and real-life nomads Linda May, Charlene Swankie, and Bob Wells.
Even with the festival circuit in pandemic disarray, Nomadland will walk through all the major showings, with dual premieres at Venice and Toronto on September 11, followed by a drive-in Telluride screening in Los Angeles and a centerpiece slot at the digital and drive-in New York Film Festival. It hits “theaters” December 4, whatever that will mean by then.
Filmmakers and artists in general have a tendency to judge their characters. Here’s the good guy, here’s the bad guy. Here’s the problem that needs to be solved for the leading man or lady to be happy by the end of the movie or damned because of their bad behavior.
There’s a much lesser version of the true story of “Nomadland,” based on the book by Jessica Bruder, that does all of this, melodramatizing Fern’s story into one of redemption. Fern doesn’t think she needs to be redeemed or saved, and Zhao doesn’t push buttons in an attempt to make us feel sorry for her either, while also somehow never underestimating the loneliness and sadness of her situation. The result is a film that earns its emotions, which come from genuine, honest empathy more than anything else.
Of course, this is impossible with a lesser actress than Frances McDormand anchoring every single scene. We see this world through McDormand’s performance, one of the most subtle and refined of her career. Fern is such a stunningly complex woman, someone who can be restless to a degree that feels self-sabotaging but is also incredibly warm and open with her people. She makes friends everywhere she goes, like the ladies she goes to an RV show with, or the young man she gives light to.
McDormand does so much with a glance or a wry smile that other actors couldn’t convey with an entire monologue. We see a whole life in this performance. Every beat and every choice has a history behind it. It’s one of the best career performances from one of our best actresses. It’s just breathtaking.
And Zhao matches what she’s getting from McDormand in “Nomadland” with her stunning technical prowess. She reunites with Joshua James Richards, the cinematographer on “The Rider,” and the pair again find beauty in the landscapes of the country. Fern’s journey takes her all across the United States and Zhao and Richards lean into the majesty of the world around her with long shots of the horizon, most of them seemingly shot at the magic hour.
It’s a beautiful film just to experience, and it’s not just in “beauty shots.” Everything about the visual language of "Nomadland" is striking—just the way Richards and Zhao slowly glide their camera with Fern through a community of van-dwellers can feel lyrical while somehow never losing the truth and grit of the moment either
Nomadland Cast
- Frances McDormand as Fern
- David Strathairn as David
- Linda May as Linda, one of Fern's three mentors
- Charlene Swankie as Swankie, one of Fern's three mentors
- Bob Wells as Bob, one of Fern's three mentors
Nomadland Release Date
Nomadland had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 11, 2020, and screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on the same day. At Venice, the film won several awards, including the festival's top honor, the Golden Lion. In Toronto, the film won the People's Choice Award. It was the first film ever to win the top prize at both Venice and Toronto. It also screened at the New York Film Festival and opened the San Diego International Film Festival.
In February 2019, Searchlight Pictures acquired the distribution rights. The film is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on December 4, 2020.
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