NOMADLAND(2020)

Nomadland serves as a capstone for Zhao's unofficial Western trilogy. Nomadland is a film that resonates with the early 2020s, focusing on the erosion of the middle class due to late-stage capitalism, grief, trauma, and a subversion of the frontier myth.

Nomadland is a subversive take on the western with the Nomads marking the American Western frontier, but they have no land to settle, no future to work for, unlike cowboy frontier myths. This subversion is a recurring feature in Zhao's filmography.

Nomadland offers a form of "ugly freedom" in a Western sense for Fern's narrative, with her freedom curtailed by a melancholic sense of loneliness, danger, grief, and being a victim of late-stage capitalism, as she commits herself to the rigors of the migratory nomad cycle.

Hence, Nomadland's imagery is dominated by isolated towns, ruined industries, cold and barren lands with sparse populations, speaking to a cultural and self-inflicted economic trauma. It speaks to the existential milieu of the 2020s.

Nomadland stresses the idea of community in the wake of trauma, with its depiction of an older generation alienated and discarded by a ruthless economy, having no one but themselves to hold out for.

Nomadland's exploration and fetishism with nomadism overshadows its economic reality and makes it politically awkward in the context of 2020's America. It muddles into neoliberal apologetics with its soft-pedalling of systemic failure and its erasure of economic pain for nomadism.

Notably, it comes with Nomadland's personal focus on Fern, whose motives are driven by grief and loss, not by her economic hardships. Nomadland also sidelines its source material's critical look at industries(Amazon), forcing older people to do menial yet dangerous work.

Overall, Nomadland, while soft-pedaling systemic critics underpinning its narrative, remains a moving and melancholic episodic narrative about individual people and the communities made in a Western backdrop. It's achingly sweet, sincere, and not sentimental.

Technically, Nomadland applies a neo-realistic approach with a Western sensibility. Lush visuals, natural light cinematography, open natural landscapes, and bleak color palette dominate the visual scope of the narrative.

The episodic and mellow pacing guides the film's docudrama narrative structure. Smash cuts, handheld camera movements, montages, and split cuts are employed in its editing. Ambient sound, silence punctuates a grounded soundscape.

Frances McDormand's understated, restrained performance centers the film's narrative with pathos, depth, and emotional subtlety. The detailed production design conveys an authentic look into nomadism and industrialized America.

The cast conveys fit, fame, diversity, and provides authenticity to the narrative. The minimal effects consist of tangible production design while striving for an authentic and documentarian look. Overall, Nomadland is an aggressive force of docudrama and grounded technical skill.

Writing: 7/10

Direction: 9/10

Cinematography: 10/10

Acting: 10/10

Editing: 9/10

Score: 8/10

Sound: 8/10

Prod Design: 10/10

Casting: 10/10

Effects: 6/10

Overall Score: 8.7/10