Our Path to Nomadland
The disarray created by the back-to-back punches of the Covid-19 pandemic and attempted coup of D.C. has Americans wondering if this is the place to put down roots. Perhaps the U.S. of A. is not the special place we’ve been led to believe it is supposed to be.
Jessica Bruder’s 2017 book “Nomadland” had already revealed a scratch on the country’s luster. Ms. Bruder’s book was the chronicling of a three and half year ride along with those in their golden years, but without golden parachutes. In the wake of the ‘08 crash and the relentless march of inflation, the baby boomers in her story are left to leave real estate and it’s costs behind, to hit the road, looking for part-time work, free places to park, and friends similarly situated to commensurate with.
This storyline may not scream OSCAR to you, but, in director Chloé Zhao’s hands, “Nomadland” is a 7-1 favorite to win the best picture academy award according to goldderby.com. Zhao is the 10-3 favorite for best director ahead of heavyweights David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin.
Once a sure bet to capture her 3rd best actress Oscar, Frances McDormand has slipped into third behind Carey Mulligan and Viola Davis. However, the three are bunched at or near 4 to 1. Nominations for best adapted screenplay and best cinematography should be sure things and likely be winning categories.
While the movie is mostly true to the book, Zhao deftly slices into the plot the closure of the GSE Gypsum plant and the complete emptying of company town Empire, Nevada which puts Fern (McDormand) on the road after the death of her husband who had worked at GSE.
The fictional Fern and potential love interest Dave (David Strathairn) are mixed with real people from the book, Bob Wells, Swankie, and Linda May who play themselves. Fern and Dave’s chemistry adds some sizzle the book doesn’t have. There’s a reason McDormand will be receiving her 6th Oscar nomination. Ms. Zhao compares McDormand’s body language to that of Buster Keeton and Charlie Chaplin. “You love how she interacts with the space.” Point the camera at McDormand set against the background of wide desert vistas of Northern Nevada and South Dakota will put you in the Oscar hunt every time.
Bruder’s book is a cover-to-cover bashing of Amazon, it’s low pay, strenuous work, and lack of benefits. “Many of the workers I met in the Amazon camps were part of a demographic that in recent years has grown with alarming speed: downwardly mobile older Americans,” wrote Bruder.
While Zhao features some shots from an Amazon fulfilment center, no shade is thrown Jeff Bezos’ way. The relentless price increases and taxes on residential real estate are the culprits behind pushing these workampers to the road, but Zhao includes none of this.
The movie is a story of loss, loneliness, and, most importantly, resilience. These rubber tramps find a way to make their lives not only work, but find joy down the road.
Fern’s sister makes the comment that modern nomads are the equivalent to others who have migrated throughout history. Bruder wrote, “Those who do are analogous to what biologists call an ‘indicator species’--sensitive organisms with the capacity to signal much larger shifts in an ecosystem.”
We may all end up in Nomadland.
