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Nomadland
Theatrical release poster
Directed byChloé Zhao
Screenplay byChloé Zhao
Based onNomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century
by Jessica Bruder
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJoshua James Richards
Edited byChloé Zhao
Music byLudovico Einaudi
Production
companies
  • Highwayman
  • Hear/Say Productions
  • Cor Cordium Productions
Distributed bySearchlight Pictures[1]
Release dates
  • September 11, 2020 (2020-09-11) (Venice)
  • February 19, 2021 (2021-02-19) (United States)
Running time
108 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$5 million[3][4]
Box office$39.5 million[5][6]

Nomadland is a 2020 American drama film written, produced, edited and directed by Chloé Zhao. Based on the 2017 nonfiction book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder, it stars Frances McDormand as a widow who leaves her life in Nevada to drift around the United States in her van. A number of real-life nomads appear as fictionalized versions of themselves, including Linda May, Swankie, and Bob Wells. David Strathairn also stars in a supporting role.

Nomadland premiered on September 11, 2020, at the Venice Film Festival, where it won the Golden Lion. It also won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. It had a one-week streaming limited release on December 4, 2020, and was distributed by Searchlight Pictures in selected IMAX theaters in the United States on January 29, 2021, and simultaneously in theaters, and streaming digitally on Hulu, on February 19, 2021. The film received critical acclaim and was a box office success, grossing $39 million worldwide against its $5 million budget.

At the 93rd Academy Awards, the film won Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress for McDormand, from a total of six nominations.[7] Zhao became the second woman and first Asian woman to win Best Director, and the first to be nominated in four categories in a single year. McDormand became the first woman and fourth person to win Academy Awards for both acting and producing, and the first person to win Academy Awards as producer and performer for the same film.[8] It is also the first Searchlight release to win Best Picture since the studio's ownership under Walt Disney Studios, following Disney's acquisition of the 21st Century Fox assets. It also won Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director at the 78th Golden Globe Awards,[9] four awards including Best Film at the 74th British Academy Film Awards,[10] and four awards including Best Film at the 36th Independent Spirit Awards.[11]

Plot

[edit]

In 2011, Fern loses her job after the closure of the US Gypsum plant in Empire, Nevada; she had worked there for years along with her husband, who recently died. Fern sells most of her belongings and purchases a van to live in and travel the country searching for work. She takes a seasonal job at an Amazon fulfillment center through the winter.

Linda, a friend and co-worker, invites Fern to visit a desert rendezvous in Arizona organized by Bob Wells, which provides a support system and community for fellow nomads. Fern initially declines, but changes her mind as the weather turns cold and she struggles to find work in the area. There, she meets fellow nomads and learns basic survival and self-sufficiency skills for the road.

When Fern's van blows a tire, she visits the van of a nearby nomad, Swankie, to ask for a ride into town to buy a spare. Swankie chastises Fern for not being prepared and invites her to learn road survival skills; they become friends. Swankie tells Fern about her cancer diagnosis and shortened life expectancy and her plan to make good memories on the road rather than waste away in a hospital. They eventually part ways.

Fern takes a job as a camp host at the Cedar Pass Campgrounds in Badlands National Park in South Dakota. Also working there is Dave, another nomad she met and danced with at the desert community. When he falls ill with diverticulitis, she visits him at the hospital where he has had emergency surgery. They take restaurant jobs at Wall Drug in South Dakota. One night, Dave's son visits the restaurant looking for him, telling him that his wife is pregnant and asking him to meet his grandchild. He is hesitant, but Fern encourages him to go. Dave suggests that she come with him, but she declines.

Fern takes a new job at a sugar beet processing plant, but her van breaks down, and she cannot afford the repairs. Unable to borrow money, she visits her sister's family at their home in California. Fern's sister lends her the money to get the van fixed. She questions why Fern was never around in their lives and why she stayed in Empire after her husband died, but she tells Fern that she is brave to be so independent. Fern later visits Dave and his son's family in Point Arena, California, learning that Dave has decided to stay with them long-term. He admits to having feelings for her and invites her to stay with him permanently in a guest house, but she decides to leave after only a few days, heading to the ocean.

Fern resumes her seasonal job at Amazon and later returns to the Arizona gathering. There, she learns that Swankie has died, and she and the other nomads pay tribute to her life by tossing stones into the campfire. Fern opens up to Bob about her loving relationship with her late husband, and he shares the story of his son's suicide. Bob espouses the view that goodbyes are not final in the nomad community as its members always promise to see each other again "down the road".

Fern returns to the nearly abandoned town of Empire to dispose of the belongings she has been keeping in a storage unit. She visits the factory and the home she shared with her husband before returning to the road.

Cast

[edit]
  • Frances McDormand as Fern
  • David Strathairn as Dave
  • Linda May as Linda
  • Charlene Swankie as Swankie
  • Bob Wells as Bob Wells
  • Peter Spears as Peter
  • Derek Endres as Derek
  • Tay Strathairn as James
  • Gay DeForest as Gay
  • Patricia Grier as Patty
  • Angela Reyes as Angela
  • Carl R. Hughes as Carl
  • Douglas G. Soul as Doug
  • Ryan Aquino as Ryan
  • Teresa Buchanan as Teresa
  • Karie Lynn McDermott Wilder as Karie
  • Brandy Wilber as Brandy
  • Makenzie Etcheverry as Makenzie
  • Annette Webb as Annette
  • Rachel Bannon as Rachel
  • Bryce Bedsworth as Bryce
  • Sherita Deni Coker as Deni
  • Merle Redwing as Merle
  • Forrest Bault as Forrest
  • Suanne Carlson as Suanne
  • Donnie Miller as Donnie
  • Roxanne Bay as Roxy
  • Matt Sfaelos as Noodle
  • Ronald O. Zimmerman as Ron
  • Paige Dean as Paige
  • Paul Winer as Paul
  • Derrick Janis as Victor
  • Greg Barber as Greg
  • Carol Anne Hodge as Carol
  • Matthew Stinson as Nurse Matt
  • Terry Phillip as Terry
  • Bradford Lee Riza as Brad
  • Cat Clifford as Cat
  • James R. Taylor Jr. as James
  • Jeremy Greenman as Jeremy
  • Ken Greenman as Ken
  • Melissa Smith as Dolly
  • Warren Keith as George
  • Jeff Andrews as Jeff
  • Paul Cunningham as Paul
  • Emily Jade Foley as Emily
  • Mike Sells as Mike
  • Cheryl Davis as Cheri
  • Aubrey Etcheverry as Aubrey

Production

[edit]
Director Chloé Zhao

Frances McDormand and Peter Spears optioned the film rights to the book in 2017. After seeing Chloé Zhao's film The Rider at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival, McDormand decided to approach her about the project.[12] She and Spears met with Zhao at the 33rd Independent Spirit Awards in March 2018, and Zhao agreed to write and direct the film.[13]

Filming for Nomadland took place over four months in fall 2018, with writer-director Zhao splitting time between the set and pre-production for Eternals (2021). McDormand, Zhao, and other crew members lived out of vans over the course of production.[14] David Strathairn, and real-life nomads Linda May, Swankie, and Bob Wells, also star. Many other real-life nomads appear throughout the film. McDormand, Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey, and Zhao produced the film.[15]

Soundtrack

[edit]
Main article: Nomadland (soundtrack)

There is an official soundtrack for the film.[16]

Songs and author

[edit]
  • Struttin' Easy Peasy, written by Stephen Edwards
  • Foot Stompin' Banjo, written by Stephen Edwards
  • Next To The Track Blues, written and performed by Paul Winer
  • Dave's Song, written and performed by Tay Strathairn
  • Gravity (Seven Days Walking, Day Three), written and performed by Ludovico Einaudi
  • Low Mist (Seven Days Walking, Day One), written and performed by Ludovico Einaudi
  • Drifting Away I Go, written and performed by Cat Clifford

Release

[edit]

Searchlight Pictures (then-named Fox Searchlight Pictures) acquired the worldwide distribution rights for Nomadland in February 2019.[17] The film had its world premiere at the 77th Venice International Film Festival on September 11, 2020, and screened at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival later the same day.[18] At Venice, the film won several awards, including the festival's top honor, the Golden Lion.[19][20] At Toronto, the film won the People's Choice Award.[21] It is the first film to win the top prize at both Venice and Toronto.[22]

In association with Searchlight, Film at Lincoln Center held exclusive virtual screenings of the film for one week only beginning on December 4, 2020, the film's initial release date before Searchlight delayed it to February 19, 2021, due to concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic.[23][24] It was released in IMAX theaters on January 29, 2021, with a wide theatrical and drive-in release in the United States on February 19, and streaming on Hulu the same day.[25] A two-week preview season in certain regions of Australia and New Zealand began on December 26, 2020, before a wider release on March 4, 2021.[26]

Nomadland was released on Disney+ on April 9, 2021, in Canada, and April 30, 2021, in most other countries.[27][28][29] Although originally scheduled for a limited release in China starting on April 23, 2021,[30] the film did not get released after facing censorship due to questions of Zhao's citizenship and statements she had made in the past putting China in a negative light.[31][6][5]

Nomadland was released on Blu-ray and digital streaming services on April 27, 2021, by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.[32]

Reception

[edit]

Box office

[edit]

Nomadland grossed $3.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $35.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $39.1 million.[5][6]

Although Searchlight did not publicly release Nomadland's grosses, it was released in North America the same day as The Little Things, and sources estimated a gross of $170,000 from its two-week IMAX run, then $503,000 from 1,175 theaters in its wide opening weekend on February 19, for a total of $673,000. Social media monitor RelishMix noted online response was "mixed-to-leaning-positive" among audiences.[33] In its second wide release weekend, it earned an estimated $330,000 from 1,200 theaters, for a four-week running total of $1.1 million.[34]

Critical response

[edit]
Frances McDormand's performance received critical acclaim, earning her the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 93% of 442 critic reviews were positive, with an average rating of 8.8/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "A poetic character study on the forgotten and downtrodden, Nomadland beautifully captures the restlessness left in the wake of the Great Recession."[35] According to Metacritic, which assigned it a weighted average score of 89 out of 100 based on 55 critics, the film received "universal acclaim".[36]

Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, David Rooney called the film a "powerful character study", and added, "Like Zhao's earlier work, Nomadland is an unassuming film, its aptly meandering, unhurried non-narrative layering impressions rather than building a story with the standard markers. But the cumulative effect of its many quiet, seemingly inconsequential encounters and moments of solitary contemplation is a unique portrait of outsider existence."[1] Adrian Horton of The Guardian gave the film a positive review, stating, "Nomadland has garnered industry praise as a likely frontrunner for the best picture Oscar ... The word of mouth is warranted."[37] A.O. Scott of The New York Times similarly gave a positive review, writing "It's like discovering a new country, one you may want to visit more than once."[38] Eric Kohn of IndieWire gave the film an "A−" and said, "director Chloé Zhao works magic with McDormand's face and the real world around it, delivering a profound rumination on the impulse to leave society in the dust."[39] Some reviewers felt the film idealized financial despair. Critic Tim Brayton called it "108 minutes of poverty tourism",[40] while WBUR's Sean Burns wrote "Zhao has made The Grapes of Wrath without the wrath".[41]

Filmmaker Barry Jenkins praised Zhao's direction, saying "There’s a meticulousness to her craft, and yet it also feels kind of free. I think people watch her work, and they first assume, “Oh, they just showed up and things just happened.” But I know what it takes to get this framing and that framing. I think there’s this idea of things just happening, but there’s also the craft involved in knowing a place, getting there, understanding the light, and then creating an environment for your actors to just do this wonderful thing they do."[42]

IndieWire's poll of 231 critics included Nomadland in its Best Movies of 2020.[43] According to Metacritic, the film was ranked the best of 2020 by critics more often than any other.[44] In 2021, it was included on Forbes's list of "The Top 150 Greatest Films Of The 21st Century."[45] In 2022, it ranked number 10 on Time Out's list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st century So Far," saying that the film "expertly stitches together realism, moments of sheer transcendence and a lightly-worn radicalism in a way that feels nothing but unpatronizing and empathetic."[46] In August 2023, Collider ranked the film at number 13 on its list of "The 20 Best Drama Movies of the 2020s So Far," calling it "a moving portrayal of the American nomadic lifestyle" and praised the lead character of Fern as "endearing ... because of her self-confidence, but it never feels like she’s attempting to impose her choice of lifestyle on anyone else."[47] In 2025, it was one of the films voted for the "Readers' Choice" edition of The New York Times' list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century," finishing at number 312.[48]

McDormand loudly howled toward the ceiling when accepting the Oscar for Best Picture, which drew confusion from many audience members and press outlets. She went on to explain this was done to honor the film's Sound Mixer, Michael "Wolf" Snyder, who had died shortly before the release of the film.[49]

Reaction in China

[edit]

According to western media, Zhao and the film's success prior to and leading up to the Golden Globes and the Oscars were initially praised on Chinese social media outlets, as well as official state-controlled news media.[50][51][52]

After the Golden Globes, Zhao was scrutinized by Chinese netizens over her remarks in a 2013 interview for Filmmaker magazine, in which she described China as "a place where there are lies everywhere". In response to the controversy, Nomadland was pulled from theatrical release by Disney China, and the 93rd Academy Awards were censored by Chinese media outlets along with all mention of Zhao or the film on social media.[53][54]

Accolades

[edit]
Main article: List of accolades received by Nomadland

Nomadland won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and also won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival.[55][56][57] It received four nominations at the 78th Golden Globe Awards, winning Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director; in winning the latter award, Zhao became the second woman and the first East Asian woman to do so.[9][58] It received five nominations at the 36th Independent Spirit Awards and six nominations at the 26th Critics' Choice Awards, winning four awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.[59][60] At the 27th Screen Actors Guild Awards, McDormand received a nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role.[61] The film won the BAFTA Award for Best Film in 2021.[62][63] The film received six nominations at the 93rd Academy Awards, winning Best Director[64] (with Zhao becoming the second woman and first non-white woman to do so),[65] Best Picture,[66] and Best Actress awards in 2021.[67] Both the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute named Nomadland as one of the top 10 films of 2020.[68][69]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Nomadland

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Nomadland is a 2020 American drama film written, produced, edited, and directed by , starring as , a widow in her sixties who, after the devastates her town and claims her husband's life, embarks on a nomadic existence in a van, taking seasonal jobs while traversing . The film incorporates real-life nomads as supporting actors to blend documentary-style realism with narrative fiction, loosely adapting Jessica Bruder's 2017 nonfiction book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century, which documents older Americans resorting to van-dwelling and gig labor amid economic precarity. Distributed by and released amid the , Nomadland premiered at the in September 2020, where it won the , and went on to secure widespread critical acclaim for its , performances, and portrayal of resilience in adversity. It achieved major accolades, including for Best Picture, Best Director (making Zhao the second woman to win in that category), and for McDormand, alongside Golden Globe wins for Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director. Despite its successes, the film has drawn for romanticizing the hardships of economic nomads, presenting their as spiritually liberating rather than primarily a response to structural failures like stagnation and job loss, and for depicting Amazon warehouse work without highlighting reported exploitative conditions. Some reviewers argue it diverges from Bruder's book by softening the critique of precarity, potentially obscuring the causal role of policy and corporate practices in fostering such itinerant labor.

Synopsis

Plot summary


Nomadland centers on (), a widow in her sixties whose life unravels after the closure of the U.S. plant in , which had sustained the company town for 88 years, and the subsequent death of her husband, Bo, from cancer. With the town reduced to a —its ZIP code officially retired— sells most possessions, stores the rest, and converts her van into a to pursue seasonal work across . Fern secures a job at an Amazon fulfillment center in Nebraska during the holiday rush, where she encounters fellow nomad Linda May and learns practicalities of van-dwelling amid harsh winter conditions. Facing job scarcity, she attends the annual Rubber Tramp Rendezvous (RTR) in Quartzsite, Arizona, organized by nomad leader Bob Wells, absorbing survival skills from the community of van-dwellers who share stories of economic hardship and resilience. There, she befriends the terminally ill Swankie, who imparts wisdom on cherishing fleeting experiences, and forms a tentative connection with Dave (David Strathairn), another nomad grappling with family estrangement. Throughout her travels, Fern takes varied gigs: selling quartz at a roadside stand, hosting at the Wall Drug store in South Dakota, harvesting sugar beets in Nebraska, and serving as a camp host in the Badlands. Mechanical issues plague her van, forcing her to seek funds from her estranged sister Dolly during a brief visit to her family, where tensions arise over Fern's rejection of settled life. Interactions with Dave deepen, including shared work and a moment of vulnerability after his health scare, but Fern resists his invitations to integrate into his family, prioritizing her independence. Swankie's death prompts Fern to contribute to a memorial at the next RTR, underscoring the nomads' makeshift rituals for processing loss. Ultimately, empties her storage unit, returns to the abandoned site to reflect on her past, and sets off anew, embodying the nomadic ethos of amid . The interweaves Fern's personal journey with real nomads' testimonies, highlighting the subculture's blend of autonomy, community, and survival strategies post-Great Recession.

Cast and characters

portrays , the film's , a widow in her sixties who loses her home and job following the shutdown of a gypsum plant in her town after the , prompting her to embark on a nomadic life in a converted cargo van. The supporting cast features a blend of professional actors and real-life s who play dramatized versions of themselves, contributing to the film's authentic depiction of van-dwelling culture. plays Dave, a fellow and seasonal worker whom Fern encounters at a gathering and who develops a tentative romantic connection with her.
ActorCharacterDescription
Linda MayLinda MayA real and Fern's coworker at an Amazon fulfillment center who introduces her to the and shares experiences of economic hardship.
Charlene SwankieSwankieA terminally ill who befriends Fern, offering guidance on and reflecting on her 15 years of road life before her death.
Bob WellsBob WellsFounder of the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous event, depicted as a mentor figure advising nomads on and amid financial tyranny.
Other nomads, such as Gay DeForest as Gay and Patricia Grier as Patty, appear in supporting roles drawn from their actual lives, emphasizing the film's semi-documentary style.

Production

Development

Nomadland originated from Jessica Bruder's 2017 Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century, which documented the lives of older adopting a nomadic following economic hardships. The , published in September 2017, was optioned in manuscript form by actress and producer through representative Brian Swardstrom, who recommended it for its portrayal of a reflecting broader American economic realities. Chloé Zhao attached as director during the 2017 awards season after meeting Spears and McDormand, pitching an approach akin to her prior film The Rider (2017), blending a fictional protagonist with real individuals from the nomadic community. Zhao adapted Bruder's book into a screenplay featuring Fern, a composite character inspired by real nomads such as those profiled in the source material, while incorporating non-actors like Linda May and Bob Wells for authenticity. Rather than a conventional script, Zhao developed a flexible "blueprint" of scenes to accommodate improvisation and the evolving contributions of non-professional performers, with McDormand meeting Zhao in March 2018 to discuss the project and refine the character's essence. Bruder served as a consulting producer, facilitating introductions to actual nomads and providing research insights to ground the narrative in verifiable experiences. The project secured financing for a $4–6 million budget from independent sources, with Fox Searchlight Pictures acquiring distribution rights via a negative pick-up deal; key producers included Spears, McDormand, Zhao, Mollye Asher, and Dan Janvey under their Highwayman banner. Pre-production commenced immediately following Zhao's pitch, emphasizing immersion in nomadic communities through location scouting and participant recruitment, setting the stage for principal photography starting in September 2018 across five Western states. This unorthodox development prioritized empirical observation over scripted rigidity, allowing the story to evolve from direct engagements with the subjects depicted.

Filming


Principal photography for Nomadland began in September 2018 at Badlands National Park in South Dakota, where the production captured the film's opening scenes amid the park's dramatic landscapes. The shoot extended over approximately five months, with the crew traveling southward and westward across the United States to film in real-world settings that mirrored the nomadic lifestyle depicted. Filming occurred across five states—Arizona, California, Nebraska, Nevada, and South Dakota—with specific sites including for RV gatherings, the of in for sequences evoking economic decline, and coastal areas near Mendocino in . A compact crew of 27 to 36 members enabled a mobile, low-profile approach, allowing the team to integrate seamlessly with actual communities and adapt schedules to environmental conditions rather than a fixed timeline. Director Chloé Zhao prioritized naturalistic cinematography, shooting primarily during magic hours—sunrise and sunset—for authentic lighting, which compressed daily filming windows to 20-40 minutes of usable light and demanded rapid setups amid chaotic transitions. Cinematographer Joshua James Richards noted the intensity of this method, particularly in Arizona's deserts, where relentless conditions tested endurance while capturing the vast, unyielding terrain. Weather variability further shaped the production, with South Dakota selected initially for optimal September light, and later sequences in Nevada's Black Rock Desert accommodating wintry scenes filmed over about a month. The approach eschewed traditional scripting in favor of a "blueprint" framework, blending prepared scenes with involving non-professional performers—many real nomads—to achieve authenticity in interactions and daily routines. This method, supported by Zhao's prior immersion in van life and collaboration with producer , emphasized causal fidelity to the subjects' experiences over contrived narrative beats.

Music and soundtrack

The soundtrack for Nomadland features minimalist piano compositions primarily by Italian pianist and composer Ludovico Einaudi, curated by director Chloé Zhao to complement the film's portrayal of transient life and expansive natural settings. Zhao selected existing tracks rather than commissioning an original score, drawing from Einaudi's albums including Divenire (2006) and Seven Days Walking (2019). Key pieces used include "Oltremare," which opens the film and recurs during reflective moments, and "Golden Butterflies," evoking subtle emotional undercurrents. The official Nomadland: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack album, released by Decca Records on February 19, 2021, comprises 11 tracks totaling approximately 48 minutes. It incorporates seven Einaudi selections, such as "Petricor" and "Low Mist," alongside a previously unreleased string piece by Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds titled "Earlier Dawn," and diegetic elements like "Answer Me, My Love" performed by Nat King Cole. Zhao is credited as soundtrack producer, with executive production by herself, Frances McDormand, and others involved in the film's production. Additional music in the film includes folk and songs for character-driven scenes, such as "On the Road Again" by Donnie Miller and traditional carols like "" performed by cast members during communal gatherings. These elements blend non-diegetic score with to underscore the nomads' self-reliant, improvisational existence.

Release

Premiere and distribution

Nomadland had its world premiere in competition at the 77th Venice International Film Festival on September 11, 2020, where it won the Golden Lion award. The film screened simultaneously at the Toronto International Film Festival on the same date. It was also selected for screenings at the Telluride Film Festival, New York Film Festival, and other fall events. Distributed by , a , the film faced delays due to the . It received a limited streaming release on December 4, 2020, followed by a theatrical rollout in select theaters in the United States on January 29, 2021. The wide release occurred on February 19, 2021, in North American theaters and simultaneously on as a hybrid model to accommodate theater closures and restrictions. International theatrical releases began in February 2021 in various markets.

Box office performance

Nomadland had a of $5 million. The film earned $3.7 million in and approximately $35.8 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $39.5 million. It received a limited release in the United States on December 4, 2020, followed by a wider rollout beginning February 19, 2021, which opened to $503,000 domestically amid ongoing restrictions limiting theater attendance. The pandemic-era timing constrained its theatrical run, resulting in it becoming the lowest-grossing Best Picture Oscar winner in decades, with domestic earnings under $3 million through April 2021. Despite the subdued , the film's low budget enabled profitability for distributor . International markets, particularly , accounted for the bulk of earnings, with releases staggered through mid-2021.

Reception

Critical response

Nomadland received widespread critical acclaim following its premiere at the on September 11, 2020, where it won the . The film holds a 93% Tomatometer approval rating on from 440 reviews, with critics averaging it 8.8/10, praising its poetic portrayal of economic displacement and nomadic resilience. On , it earned universal acclaim with a weighted average score of 96/100 based on 57 reviews, highlighting Zhao's empathetic direction and McDormand's restrained performance. Reviewers frequently commended the film's integration of non-professional actors drawn from real nomad communities, which lent authenticity to its depiction of post-recession . Brian Tallerico of awarded four out of four stars, describing it as "gorgeous" and blending "dreamlike" visuals with a "grounded" of overlooked . in noted its "loose, episodic structure" and "understated toughness," aligning with the ethos of itinerant workers facing seasonal labor and loss. David Rooney of called it an "elegy for vanishing blue-collar communities" and a "defiant hymn to outcasts." Dissenting critiques, often from left-leaning outlets, faulted the film for romanticizing and nomadism without sufficiently indicting underlying capitalist structures. In Jacobin, it was termed both an "emotional powerhouse" and "terrible," critiqued for evoking sympathy through individual resilience rather than collective economic failure. A Slate analysis highlighted an "overly cozy" portrayal of corporate employers like Amazon, despite the nomads' exploitative warehouse jobs, suggesting narrative inconsistency in addressing power imbalances. Other reviewers, such as those in , dismissed it as "obnoxious tourism," prioritizing over substantive critique of systemic issues. These views underscore debates over whether the film's obscures broader causal factors in American inequality.

Audience and cultural reactions

Nomadland garnered a strong but polarized response, with an 82% score on based on over 500 verified ratings, compared to its 93% critics' Tomatometer from 440 reviews. On , the film holds a 7.3 out of 10 rating from user votes. Many viewers praised McDormand's subdued performance and the film's for evoking the vast American landscapes and emotional solitude of its protagonists, describing it as thoughtful and visually stunning. However, a significant portion of feedback highlighted the film's deliberate slow pacing and lack of traditional plot structure as detracting from engagement, with some labeling it a "downer" or "depressing" experience that prioritized atmosphere over narrative drive. Cultural reactions to Nomadland often centered on its depiction of itinerant van-dwelling as a response to economic displacement following events like the and factory closures in places such as . The film prompted discussions about the realities of labor, including seasonal work at Amazon warehouses, which some viewers and commentators viewed as a critique of precarious employment conditions in late-stage capitalism. Others argued it romanticized , framing socioeconomic hardship as a voluntary "nomad lifestyle" choice akin to frontier rather than , potentially obscuring class-based exploitation. This interpretation drew accusations of " tourism" or "misery porn," where the film's aesthetic beauty and Oscar success were seen as commodifying suffering for affluent audiences without deeper structural analysis. The movie also influenced perceptions of mobile living, inspiring a subset of viewers to explore van life amid rising costs, while real nomads featured in the film, such as Swankie, emphasized its authenticity in capturing community bonds and survival strategies over glamour. Critics from left-leaning outlets like Jacobin described it as "schizophrenic," simultaneously empathetic to personal grief and complicit in softening corporate roles in worker precarity, such as Amazon's labor practices. noted inconsistencies in portraying Amazon positively despite broader economic critiques, reflecting debates on whether the film indicts or accommodates neoliberal structures. Overall, Nomadland amplified conversations on American but faced pushback for aestheticizing adversity without advocating policy solutions.

Themes and analysis

Portrayal of economic hardship

The film depicts the protagonist (played by ) facing acute economic displacement after the closure of the U.S. Gypsum plant in her hometown of , which eliminates her stable manufacturing job and renders the community a . This event, compounded by her husband's death from cancer, forces Fern to liquidate her possessions and convert her vehicle into a , symbolizing the transition from middle-class stability to precarious van-dwelling. The narrative underscores the lingering impacts of the 2007-2009 , portraying job loss not as isolated misfortune but as a catalyst for widespread uprooting among older workers lacking robust safety nets. Economic hardship manifests through Fern's reliance on low-wage, seasonal gig labor, including a stint with Amazon's CamperForce program, where nomads pack warehouses during peak holiday demand for minimal pay amid physically taxing conditions. Similar struggles appear in depictions of harvesting, involving grueling outdoor work in harsh weather, and campground hosting, which offers shelter but ties income to transient, unpredictable employment. These roles highlight the insufficiency of such jobs for long-term sustenance, with nomads frequently rationing resources, repairing vehicles out-of-pocket, and navigating medical expenses without employer-provided insurance. The portrayal extends to the broader nomad community, featuring real individuals like Linda May and Swankie, who recount personal bankruptcies, home foreclosures, and health crises exacerbated by financial ruin, blending scripted elements with authentic testimonies to convey systemic precarity. Director Chloé Zhao incorporates these non-professional actors to ground the economic narrative in verifiable lived experiences, avoiding abstraction by showing camaraderie forged in shared deprivation, such as communal potlucks and survival workshops at the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous. This approach reveals hardship as a confluence of deindustrialization, inadequate retirement savings, and rising living costs, compelling nomads to prioritize mobility over settlement despite inherent vulnerabilities like exposure to elements and social isolation.

Nomad lifestyle realities

The nomad lifestyle in the United States, particularly among older adults, often emerges from economic necessity rather than voluntary adventure, with many individuals converting vans or RVs into mobile homes after job losses, medical debts, or the erosion of retirement savings following the of 2008–2010. These "workampers" pursue seasonal, low-wage employment such as Amazon's CamperForce warehouse roles during peak holiday periods, harvesting in the Midwest, or camp hosting at national parks, where compensation typically covers basic needs but offers little security or advancement. Physical demands of these jobs exacerbate age-related vulnerabilities, as many nomads are over 50 or 65, relying on Social Security supplemented by gig work amid stagnant wages and rising costs. Vehicle maintenance and environmental exposure constitute core hardships, with breakdowns like failures costing thousands—such as one reported $10,000 repair—straining limited budgets and halting mobility. Nomads frequently boondock on public lands lacking , , or , facing risks from , including flooding or mud entrapment that can immobilize rigs for days. Cramped interiors heighten injury risks, such as concussions from low ceilings or cabinets, while the absence of primary physicians or dentists delays care, particularly for chronic conditions tied to aging or prior hardships like heart surgery or seizures. By 2025, approximately 486,000 Americans lived full-time in RVs, more than double the figure from 2021, driven by housing unaffordability where median home payments consume over 30% of household income and rents have surged 40% in some areas like . A vast majority earn under $75,000 annually, with about a third including children, underscoring the shift from leisure to survival amid evictions and job instability. Socially, constant relocation fosters isolation from family networks, though informal communities form around figures like Bob Wells, who organizes gatherings teaching ; however, deep relationships remain elusive due to transient bonds. This precarious existence, while enabling short-term cost avoidance like $1,000 monthly savings on , offers no long-term stability, with many lacking plans for or further health decline.

Controversies

Depiction of labor conditions

In Nomadland, protagonist () takes seasonal employment at an Amazon fulfillment center in as part of the company's CamperForce program, which recruits RV-dwelling workers for peak holiday shifts starting around October each year. The film depicts her sorting packages, pushing bins, and navigating the vast warehouse floor amid repetitive tasks, with scenes emphasizing physical exertion but portraying a sense of routine camaraderie among workers, including smiles exchanged with real-life nomad Linda May. No on-screen labor violations, such as mandatory without breaks or lapses, are shown, presenting the work as tedious yet manageable for transient employees. Fern also labors at a Buckeye sugar beet processing plant in , where the job involves handling heavy sacks of beets in a dusty, grimy environment, culminating in her washing thick dirt from her skin afterward. This portrayal highlights the physically demanding nature of agricultural seasonal work, with long hours in harsh conditions typical of such gigs, which pay around plus temporary but offer no long-term benefits or stability. Critics have faulted the film's labor depictions for sanitizing realities, arguing that access to film inside the Amazon warehouse required a neutral or positive slant, omitting documented issues like high rates—Amazon warehouses reported over 14,000 incidents in 2019 alone, per OSHA —and pressure to skip breaks or meet quotas without union protections. Amazon requested removal of its branding post-screening, citing an unfavorable portrayal, though director retained it to reflect authentic nomad experiences drawn from Jessica Bruder's 2017 book. Left-leaning outlets like contend this glosses over corporate exploitation, potentially normalizing gig labor's lack of and benefits for vulnerable older workers, who comprise much of CamperForce. Conversely, the scenes underscore economic necessity post-2008 recession, with nomads opting for such roles to sustain van-dwelling independence amid stagnant wages and factory closures in rural America.

Ideological criticisms

Critics from leftist perspectives have argued that Nomadland depoliticizes the structural causes of economic by emphasizing personal resilience and nomadic adaptation over resistance to . In a review for Jacobin, Matthew Browne described the film as "schizophrenic," praising its depiction of hardship while faulting it for transforming inescapably political material—such as factory closures and gig labor—into an apolitical tale of individual fortitude, thereby eliding class struggle and potential for organized action. Similarly, In These Times contributor Alyssa Battistoni contended that the film erases as the root of suffering, instead framing poverty as a matter of private endurance that nomads heroically transcend through , aligning with neoliberal ideologies that prioritize market-driven solutions over systemic reform. The film's portrayal of Amazon warehouse employment has drawn particular ire for its perceived ideological inconsistency, given its distribution by Amazon Studios. Slate critic Laura Miller highlighted how Nomadland includes scenes of protagonist Fern working in an Amazon facility during peak season but offers no critique of the company's labor practices, such as high turnover or surveillance, despite broader evidence of grueling conditions reported in journalistic accounts of fulfillment centers. This omission, critics like those in Vanity Fair noted, underscores a tension: the film humanizes low-wage workers while profiting from the same corporate entity implicated in exacerbating the very insecurities it depicts, without interrogating corporate power's role in deindustrialization or wage stagnation. From a contrasting ideological angle, some commentators have interpreted Nomadland's valorization of off-grid self-sufficiency as inadvertently conservative or libertarian, romanticizing rugged individualism amid economic failure rather than advocating for state intervention. A analysis on Ellen and Jim Have a Blog, Eh? positioned the film as "right-wing" in the U.S. context, arguing it critiques welfare dependency and urban alienation by showcasing nomads' voluntary communities rooted in traditional mutual aid, free from progressive policy prescriptions like universal basic income or unionization drives. This view posits that the film's avoidance of explicit politics serves a subtle endorsement of personal agency over institutional fixes, though such readings remain marginal compared to dominant left-leaning critiques expecting more overt anti-capitalist messaging. These interpretations reflect broader divides, with sources like Jacobin and Slate—outlets with progressive editorial slants—prioritizing demands for structural indictment, potentially overlooking the film's basis in empirical interviews with real nomads who express agency in their choices despite hardship.

Accolades and legacy

Awards won

Nomadland won three at the 93rd ceremony on April 25, 2021: Best Picture, Best Director for , and Best Actress for . Zhao's Best Director win marked her as the second woman and first woman of color to receive the award. At the on February 28, 2021, the film secured Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director for Zhao, the latter making her the second woman ever to win in that category. The film claimed four (BAFTAs) at the 74th ceremony on April 11, 2021: Best Film, Best Director for Zhao, for McDormand, and Best for Joshua James Richards.
Award CeremonyWins
(93rd, 2021)Best Picture; Best Director (); (Frances )
(78th, 2021)Best Motion Picture – Drama; Best Director ()
(74th, 2021)Best Film; Best Director (); (Frances ); Best (Joshua James Richards)
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards (2020)Best Picture; Best Director (); (Frances ); plus two others
Additional wins included Best Picture from the in 2021.

Long-term impact

Nomadland amplified awareness of the socioeconomic conditions driving vehicular nomadism among older Americans, a phenomenon rooted in post-2008 job losses and inadequate social safety nets, affecting an estimated tens of thousands by the mid-2010s as documented in the source material. The film's empathetic portrayal, blending scripted elements with non-actors from the , humanized these individuals' resilience amid seasonal labor and constant mobility, influencing public discourse on insecurity and the erosion of the traditional . Despite coinciding with a boom in RV shipments—peaking at over 500,000 units annually in 2021 amid the —no links the film to sustained increases in necessity-based nomadism, as its depiction of physical toil, isolation, and health risks underscored the lifestyle's unappealing realities rather than glamorizing it. Industry trends in van conversions and sales predated the 2020 release, propelled instead by cost pressures, enablement, and pre-existing #vanlife aesthetics catering to affluent adventurers. Critics have noted the film's enduring role in critiquing individualism's limits, yet its lack of emphasis on structural reforms has drawn accusations of aestheticizing without challenging underlying capitalist dynamics, such as gig platform exploitation exemplified by Amazon's CamperForce program. This perspective persists in post-release analyses, highlighting how Nomadland prioritizes personal adaptation over collective advocacy, reflecting broader cultural tendencies to frame economic hardship as a matter of stoic endurance. Scholarly examinations as late as 2024 continue to probe its themes of material freedom and environmental entanglement, affirming its place in ongoing conversations about mobility and detachment in late-stage capitalism.

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