Geek Gal! A Review Of Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland From The NY Film Festival

By Caroline Cao | October 12, 2020 | Entertainment

Geek Gal is back! Caroline Cao’s review of the new film Nomandland from Asian filmmaker Chloe Zhao.

Disenfranchised from life and the economy? Hit the road to meet — and leave — some folks along the way. Nomadland is the pursuit of a Nevadian aging widow, Fern (Francis McDormand), as she passes from landscape, friends and employment to courtship on the road in her secondhand van. Adapting the life of a “nomad,” even with rickety finances, is more favorable to her than staying in one space.

This is a journey that explores the precarious possession of relationships and space, both free and contained. The open air is best for a wanderlust free-spirit like Fern, as she hits road bumps along the way and emotional revelations about her grief creep up on her.

What other centerpiece could be lovelier for the New York Film Festival? From Songs My Brother Taught Me to The Rider, Zhao’s latest appears to round out a trilogy of landscaped melancholy. Zhao’s mix of non-actors (Linda May, Swankie, Bob Wells) with their shared stories and an established performer like McDormand works like a charm. This film is a breeze rolling across heartstrings.

This humane filmmaker has mastered the subdued, so we can’t wait to see her punchy interpretation of Eternals, her directorial debut for Marvel.