TIFF 2020 film review: 'Nomadland'

With its sweeping cinematography and understated but fierce free-spirit, the subtle and naturalistic drama 'Nomadland' (screening during the 45th Toronto International Film Festival) is a masterpiece of American cinema anchored in a brilliant lead performance and crafted with elegant and humane direction.

In short: After losing everything in the Great Recession, Fern (Frances McDormand) embarks on a journey through the American West, living in her van as a modern-day nomad. David Strathairn also stars.

Go into the film knowing 'Nomadland,' quite appropriately, doesn't have an obvious or easily laid out plot. Much of the film is Fern's travels across the American West, moving from menial gig to the next gig, scraping enough to get by and afford her to live her itinerant life. The sum of all these small, intimate and detailed moments paints a truly beautiful and stark portrait of a nearly invisible population whose very existence runs counter to the widespread notion of what American prosperity looks like.

So long as marketing has powered American consumerism, the "American Dream" has consisted of a two-car garage and a white picket fence. 'Nomadland' operates against the backdrop of that ideal. Fern has to politely, but firmly, convince those around her that she's fine sleeping in her reliable van. She is quick to make the distinction between being "homeless" and "houseless," which itself could be argued is the film's thesis. There's a warped aspect of Americana to 'Nomadland,' as it celebrates self-sufficiency and independence, while simultaneously critiquing an economy that has all but abandoned the working class, leaving them with gig jobs that don't begin to pay for the essentials. The very first scene in this film embodies the very notion of shedding excess and taking only what one needs for survival - and to survive not in the wilderness, but in the U.S. without four walls and roof.

'Nomadland' succeeds in romanticizing the free-spirited lifestyle where "Into the Wild" failed because Fern didn't throw away her family and home. Even after her long-time town fell into economic collapse and she lost everything, the film is powered by Fern's decision to set out on her own. And perhaps "romanticize" isn't the right word because 'Nomadland' doesn't glorify the rootless lifestyle in the same misguided way Chris McCandless is remembered. The film alludes to the freedoms afforded by the nomad lifestyle - like being able to just move camp some place warm when it gets cold - but it also plainly lays out the reality of the 5-gallon bucket as a toilet. Rather than be a victim of circumstances larger than herself, she takes control of her destiny, choosing to live life on her terms.

Writer-director Chloé Zhao's screenplay speaks with naturalistic voice that is effortlessly profound and poetic. Three of the mentors Fern meets along her journey are real life nomads - and some of their musings on life on the road have an authenticity that no amount of acting classes could ever teach. At times, 'Nomadland' actually has the feel of an observational documentary, treating the nomads less as fictional characters and more like actual flesh-and-blood people who have criss-crossed the United States many times over.

Final verdict: Chloé Zhao and Frances McDormand have thrown down the Awards Season gauntlet, and established themselves absolute and undeniable contenders with this mesmerizing and soulful slice-of-life masterpiece.

Score: 5/5

'Nomadland' screens during TIFF 2020. This drama is not yet rated and has a running time of 108 minutes.

Image courtesy of TIFF.