Nomadland

A tour de force from powerhouse Frances McDormand. A reminder that to be houseless is not the same as being homeless. Beautifully filmed.

This movie totally hit a nerve in me.

Didn't deserve to win Best Picture. Agent O'Neal should've killed this movie instead of Mr. Hampton.

Best Picture Nomadland: I was in a Sunday afternoon mood on a disconnected Saturday. I had been waiting to watch Nomadland down the road sometime and the time arrived. Fate gave me this movie as the only option today, I watched and was absorbed by the visual honesty and the brutal truth of life. This movie entered my state of consciousness and took me on a journey of self reflection and introspective loneliness that remained hidden all of 60 years. Frances McDormand's presence felt painful, honest and piercing. The visual feelings carried me along yesterday's missed moments and tomorrow's experiences but I remained entranced with the stripped down version of life. Like a freezing moment in time that thaws out in the openness of a desert morning only to be frozen solid by a return to cold loneliness. Nomadland breaths life into our lives by reminding us of special moments found when we get lost.

Frances McDormand is always good. A slow moving film where not really a lot happens as Frances leads a nomadic and sad (is it sad though)? life around the USA. But it's well paced and doesn't drag at all. Nicely shot. Good soundtrack. Thought provoking. Yeah, decent film. If I could just repeat, Frances McDormand is always good.

I did (I really did) watch this from beginning to end and am still completely baffled about its appeal .. to anyone. Low budget? Dunno? Script or ad lib / improv? Dunno. Don't care. Watching this was like watching paint dry .. very, very slowly.

So much is being said about this movie, and I feel like adding any more words to this masterpiece will not add anything constructive. It put a strain on your heart from the opening scenes and it do not let go even when ending captures shows up. Watch it.

A slow meandering movie without much of a plot, but an intimate and emotional glimpse into the niche American subculture of van nomads. Very realistic slice of life, only possible with solid acting. Great shots of the American west.

I wanted to love it, but I feel it missed the mark. By a wide margin. It portrays most of these people, and especially Frances McDormand as the main character, as eccentric, brave, nature-lovers who choose this homeless, nomadic lifestyle, even though they have other options. She has a sister with a nice home who begs her to come live with her. David Strathairn's character ends up living cozily and happily with his estranged son in a beautiful house in practically paradise. There is little to no mention of economic hardship. Even when the folks in the movie have medical issues, they're treated and move on; absolutely no mention of medical bankruptcy, which is a leading cause of homelessness. I really feel like the writer/director wanted to tell an idealized story of an alternative lifestyle, without examining AT ALL why people end up living that way.

Zhao again captures that uniquely American longing for something beyond what civilization can offer. As heartbreaking as the movie gets I appreciate the small moments of joy.