Home Is Where The Heart Is

As Luther Vandross says, “A House is Not a Home”. Or I should say a home is not just a house, at least not a true home. For each of us home not only means but represents something different. Regardless of how we define it whether it’s a person, place, thing, or some combination, once lost, it’s not easy to replace. In Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland, we follow Fern (Frances McDormand) on her quest to not only redefine home but to discover what it means to finally live her life on her own terms.

After losing everything in the Great Recession, including the town she had called home for her entire adult life, instead of focusing on retirement, Fern is forced to start over. Instead of wallowing, she packs up, moves into her van, and travels across the West living and working as a modern-day van-dwelling nomad.

I must say without all of the award season hype, this is not normally a film that would automatically make my must-watchlist. After watching I understood most of the hype. I wholeheartedly support Chloé Zhao for Best Director. Throughout the film she paints a realistic and extremely thought-provoking portrait of iterant life, truly proving that home is indeed where the heart is. Zhao does an amazing job of allowing us to ride shotgun on this journey with Fern. Speaking of whom, Frances McDormand, per usual, does a stellar job of portraying the complicated protagonist with beautiful subtlety and strength. The performance was most definitely deserving of the best actress nomination. However, I am not sure if I am on the Best Picture train. There were moments when the story seems to lag a bit. Overall I would recommend it for those who are fans of subtle story-driven dramas.

Overall Popcorn Rating: 🍿🍿🍿.75/5