'Nomadland' movie review: Frances McDormand-starrer is a captivating drama

'Nomadland' reaches its potential due to the effective screenplay

Director: Chloé Zhao

Cast: Frances McDormand, David Strathairn and Bob Wells

Rating: 4/5

The Hollywood biggie Godzilla vs Kong, which released in theatres on March 24, received rave reviews and proved to be a feast for those craving for a big screen extravaganza. This week's release Nomadland is just as gripping as director Adam Wingard's magnum opus even though it belongs to a completely different genre and caters to the cinephile rather than the casual movie-goer.

The film revolves around what happens when the protagonist embraces a nomadic lifestyle following a personal tragedy. The basic storyline appears to be quite simple but the reality is different. The plot is layered and may superficially remind viewers of the one seen in the Hindi movie Dear Zindagi. This stems from the fact that both movies dealt with protagonists who were trying to rediscover the meaning of life. The similarities, however, end there as Nomadland has a serious tone, which was not the case with the Alia Bhatt-starrer.

The Chloé Zhao-directed movie's promising premise reaches its potential due to the effective screenplay. The initial portions establish the Nomadland world, making it easier for the viewer to connect with the reel action. The film subsequently moves at a pace that does justice to the content with the makers adopting a 'matter-of-fact' approach while dealing with the pros and cons of being a nomad.

Given the subject, Nomadland could so easily have ended up being a self-indulgent philosophical drama but that does not happen as the writers rely on telling dialogues such as 'I am houseless not homeless' to make the story more relatable.

Frances McDormand is the backbone of the film and delivers what may just be the best performance of her career, She gets into the skin of her character just the way Bollywood actor Manoj Bajpayee transformed into an ageing cop for his critically-acclaimed film Bhonsle. Frances emotes with her eyes and occasionally lets her silences do the talking.

David Strathairn makes his presence despite getting limited scope, The makers could have tried to give him a meatier role as his scenes with Frances had potential. Charlene Swankie's track does not live up to expectations. Bob Wells, who plays himself, does justice to the scenes he appears in. The rest of the cast is good.

The background score gels with the narrative while the editing is up to the mark. The other technical aspects have been handled with a certain degree of competence.

Nomadland won 3 awards at the 93rd Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress in a Leading Role.