Nomadland is a unique special film that’s about nothing less than life, death, time, and existence. It’s a tone poem full of small vignettes, only lightly connected, about what it is to live a particular type of life. It’s a pretty remarkable film that won’t gain a mass audience but should be seen by anyone looking for thoughtful introspection.

Set around 2008 when a sheetrock company closes and its small town dries up, it follows Frances McDormand’s character as she becomes a nomad. She lives out of her van, going from job to job, state to state, just existing with herself and her shaggy, scraggly tribe of other nomads. It takes place throughout the western united states, often in beautiful, dry deserts.

This is a film about many things but primarily I think it’s about an alternate lifestyle. Maybe not one everyone chooses voluntarily, but they make it work, forming communities and living half off the grid. In that sense, it’s a pretty amazing bit of filmmaking, bringing us into their world, showing an alternate America… maybe a failed America and maybe just an another version of the American dream.

McDormand is her usual level of amazing and is perfectly cast. She’s got the right look for the part as she’s surrounded largely by other actors with stories written across their weathered, lined faces. Many of these people are probably not actors but are themselves real life nomads. But there’s a worn look to these dusty, rough people – something so very Un-Hollywood, unglamorous, and real.

Don’t come to this movie expecting much plot or hand-holding or action. This is simply about living a particular way of life. The movie meanders from one vignette to another. First we see her in one small job, then another… this isn’t the type of movie with establishing shots of her applying for these jobs or choosing to pack up her van and move on. She just does, wordlessly, and that’s gotta work for you.

It certainly worked for me. I found this film utterly mesmerizing and compelling while being nothing like your usual Hollywood pic. It reminds me a bit of The Florida Project… showing another side of America. If that’s something you think you’d want to experience, by all means watch this film.

Score: 90