TIFF 2020: Nomadland
tiff 2020Van life has become a popular way of travelling among millennials and Gen Z. Instead of struggling to find a job and pay an outrageous amount of rent, many young people choose to convert old vans and live out of them. They work seasonal jobs or create an online presence. Van life offers freedom, both financially and spiritually. Your home is anywhere and everywhere, you’re free to go where you please. Chloé Zhao’s latest film Nomadland explores van life for a different age demographic, van life without the choice: it’s a necessity, survival.
Nomadland opens with a title card informing the audience about the closure of the United States Gypsum Corporation in 2011, after 88 years of operation. With the company owning their homes and nothing else keeping them in the area, former workers and residents of Empire, Nevada vacated the area, leaving it to become a ghost town. Based on Jessica Bruder’s book of the same name, Zhao explores the new life of one of these Empire wayfarers in Frances McDormand’s character Fern. Having lost her job and her husband, Fern lives out of a beat-up van affectionately known as Vanguard. Containing her few possessions, Vanguard is Fern’s refuge, the only thing with her as she takes on seasonal jobs throughout the continental United States. She is seen working at an Amazon warehouse, at a Nevada campground and even at a diner at the foot of Mount Rushmore.
Fern makes it known that she doesn’t see her situation as a negative. When she meets a former student who expresses concern at her lifestyle, Fern simply states: “I’m not homeless. I just don’t have a house. That’s different, isn’t it?” She’s actually quite proud of Vanguard, her pride evident as she gives fellow van lifers a tour. She explains how she’s converted the van to have more counter space, modified it to have more storage space. Fern is content with her lifestyle, but the loss of her husband is still evident. There are points when she pulls his old possessions out of storage, hugging an old work shirt to her chest before she tucks it away again.
Frances McDormand shows her versatility as Fern. This role is much more reserved and nuanced, her expressions mirroring the minimalism of vanlife. Yes, there are points when Fern is proud of what she’s managed to build with Vanguard, but there’s still that sense of uncertainty. A given after losing both a career and a life partner. McDormand remains grounded as Nomadland slowly builds to a heartwrenching finale. She also fits seamlessly into the nomadic world of van life, as Zhao and her team chose to use real people engaging in van life rather than actors. This helps with the film’s realism, as Nomadland accurately portrays their lifestyle. Zhao gives these nomads the opportunity to tell their stories in the film. At one point, Fern and the other characters sit around a large bonfire explaining why they have chosen to live in vans. While some simply wanted the freedom, most didn’t have a choice. Realising that their retirement savings would never be enough to comfortably live on, they are forced to continue working when they should have earned their rest.
Zhao, again, chose to work with cinematographer Joshua James Richards on Nomadland. The pair create stunning shots of America. From its vast wilderness to its dingy seasonal towns, the framing coincides with Fern’s life. The great wide open shows Fern’s ability to travel anywhere; with Vanguard, nothing limits her to staying in a single spot. The shots of beautiful sunsets illuminate the often dreary landscapes, showing that Fern always has hope despite the hard lifestyle. Zhao’s editing cuts between the wide and the intimate, knowing exactly when each setting is needed to reflect Fern’s journey. Zhao and Richards also put Fern against huge objects, like a mountain of unpeeled potatoes or a roadside dinosaur sculpture, showing how small she is compared to wider society.
At its core, Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland is a commentary on how harsh society can be. In the American Dream, you work hard and are rewarded with a relaxing retirement, but with corporations and capitalism ruling over the nation, the dream becomes unattainable. People aren’t paid enough, they’re unable to save and when they’re too old, they’re forced to keep working. People aren’t being taken care of and that’s why so many have to turn to a nomadic lifestyle. Zhao has proven, once again, the talent she has for capturing niche American movements. Nomadland is quiet and melancholy but Zhao’s ability to depict these themes on screen makes the film special. It’s a reflective piece on working class America that asks the viewer to think about why people have become so accustomed to being content with the failed American Dream.