Movie: Nomadland

Release Date: February 19, 2021

Director: Chloé Zhao

Starring: Frances McDormand, David Strathairn, Linda May, Swankie

Personal History: Watched Before

Rating: 4.75 Oscars out of 10

‘Nomadland’ was nominated for six Academy Awards, winning three including Best Picture. It had some other remarkable accomplishments as far as the Oscars are concerned as well. Chloé Zhao became the first woman and the second overall to win Best Director. Frances McDormand was the first woman and fourth overall to win as both performer and producer. It received numerous other accolades and was critically praised, becoming the third highest rated film of that year.

So what did I think?

‘Nomadland’ looks beautiful. Unfortunately, that is where my high praise for this Academy Award Best Picture winner ends. Sure, it is acted well enough thanks to Frances McDormand and David Strathairn, but the story and plot literally go nowhere and I was simply bored to tears. I wanted so badly to love it as I really do enjoy Ms. McDormand. However, I found myself wishing, waiting and hoping for the end credits.

Again, it is not a bad movie at all, it’s just that the story is more of a character study than a plot and the film drags right from the beginning. I watched it on Hulu (or Amazon, I can’t remember exactly where it was streaming) when it was first released and was genuinely disappointed in how much I was un-entertained.

I watched the movie with my husband who got up numerous times throughout to do other things. He is not one to sit around and wait for something good to happen. I on the other hand need to watch a film from beginning to end regardless of how I feel. If I start a movie, I finish it. Even ‘Cats.’ However I did fast forward through a lot of that one. That was not good at all.

How ‘Nomadland’ won Best Picture is an excellent question. There were so many other great nominees released that year including ‘Promising Young Woman,’ ‘Sound of Metal’ and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7.’ ‘Nomadland’ was definitely not my favorite film of those nominated that year. Coming off of a year of COVID, I feel that the story (or lack there of) of a woman living in isolation must have resonated more with people than it would have any other year. It did not however resonate with me whatsoever.

‘Noamdland’ is more of a mood and an atmosphere than it is a motion picture. Watching it again, I still wanted to like the film. But I did not. It is definitely a Blu Ray that will collect some dust on my shelf as I don’t think I will find the urge to watch it again, at least any time soon.