Review of Nomadland (2021) by Screenplayhouse — 28 Apr 2021

What I'm about to suggest sounds like I didn't 'get' the movie. I actually did, but I'm not sure most viewers did. Please give this take a chance.

If you liked this movie you were moved by the story of Fern, a loner migrant worker trying to survive in a broken American economy. Fighting for every last dollar, living out of her van -- it's heartbreaking.

So if you're a bleeding heart like me -- it was hard to watch this 'Nomad' and her friends barely exist. Things shouldn't be this way, we say. Being a seasonal worker for Amazon, say -- that treats workers poorly.

Once this notion grabs you -- I say -- most viewers fell asleep. Yes, their eyes were open, but they were watching with their hearts instead of their minds. For if their minds were still being objective and observant -- you'd see this movie has a disturbing agenda.

If you go back and watch the Official Trailer, you learn the filmmakers hope and pray you don't see this film a 2nd time. Just see it once, give it Best Picture, and forget this film. What was in that trailer?

Propaganda. Subtle if not subliminal ideas that... well... really don't belong in this type of story. Let's rewind.

The trailer immediately describes Fern as 'Lucky'. Why is that again? Because "she gets to travel". I didn't catch that when I watched the movie but I did when I saw the trailer. Imagine your boss firing you and saying, hey, don't worry -- "Now you get to sleep in late!".

Was that a fluke? If you were paying attention, NOPE. It's actually everywhere in this film.

Was Amazon presented as a 'hard' or 'bad' place to work? NOPE. Everything looked clean, Fern worked at a nice pace, Fern said the pay was great, and at the end of the movie Fern comes back to work some more. (I can't imagine who or what might have slipped the producers of this film to include that message.).

Another 'hidden' sponsor was big tobacco. Hey, if Frances thought it would be realistic to have the character be a smoker (which it totally is) than fine. But do you remember that she didn't want ANYONE telling her she couldn't smoke. While watching her friend die she still loved smoking. Ask yourself why she was so adamant that smoking 'helped' her.

Fern bumps into many 'Shamans' in this story. They all tell her that what they are doing is good. Sticking it to the Man, if you will. Being independent. One goes as far as to suggest these nomads are doing what the original settlers did. That they are a 'tribe', kinda like Indians. THINK about that. Instead of a movie saying it's a shame that America and its corporations do not take care of its workers -- Nomadland is saying keeping your distance from three hots and a cot is a GREAT thing. That you're some kind of Shaman American Indian Rebel Superhero.

And does Fern need a man in her life? There's a gem of one offered but she's like, NAHthanks. Does she need shelter and love from friends? NAHthanks. Does she need her family? NAHthanks. Why she's just happy as hell in the desert running her 'spa'. Aww shucks...

When all this starts to sink you really begin to wonder why people even like this movie. My theory is that the female non-white director and Frances McDormand gave this film a hyper 'cool' feeling that --.

-- kept all the viewers in that deep sleep.

Y'all have been PLAYED. Amazon and Big Tobacco want you to think suffering is 'lucky'. And it's as simple as that.