That Millennium Drift

 

NOMADLAND (A-minus) - Chloe Zhao follows up her wonderful breakthrough "The Rider" with more amateur actors from a real community. Here she embellishes into fiction the story of nomadic older Americans traveling between seasonal jobs and struggling to survive. Frances McDormand adds the professional sheen and emotional gravitas as Fern, a woman adrift since the death of her husband.

McDormand has help from David Straithairn as Dave, a fellow drifter, shooting puppy-dog looks at Fern, who isn't ready to connect with a man. The overall tone is rather morose, with the emphasis on the battle each day to make ends meet and find shelter from the elements. (While most people have RVs, Fern lives out of a van, and always on the brink of economic peril.)

The film is set right after the cratering of the company town of Empire, Nev., with the closure of a U.S. Gypsum plant in 2011, setting Fern on the road to survival. Whereas "The Rider" embedded Zhao in a real community and a non-actor as a star, in "Nomadland" McDormand and Straithairn (and a few other ringers) stand out as great actors. It's not so much a distraction as it is sort of the mirage of a CGI trick. It's almost as if McDormand, no matter how dirtied up she is here, has been digitally stitched into a documentary.

That might not be noticeable to a lot of viewers. Regardless of the casting fiction at play, McDormand wrings true pathos from Fern's situation. The budding relationship with Dave doesn't follow a predictable arc (thankfully), and Fern -- still hamstrung by grief over the loss of her husband -- occasionally is able to open up to a few fellow nomads to make a connection. The non-actors contribute a powerful moment, including Charlene Swankie as Fern's ailing friend and real-life RV-camp host Bob Wells, who pours his heart into a sorrowful monologue.

The undeniable strength here, though, is Zhao's vision and the cinematography of the West by Joshua James Richards, returning from "The Rider." The images, combined with the tinkling piano music of Ludovico Einaudi, set the melancholy mood and lay the foundation for Zhao's storytelling. 

This is gorgeous, heartfelt storytelling.

BONUS TRACK

From the closing credits, Cat Clifford with "Drifting Away I Go":

And a sample of Einaudi's soundtrack: