Nomadland: Great Recession Hit Americans

Nomadland explores what happens when the Great Recession (of 2007-2009) hit the Americans hard. This movie is inspired by real-life stories of the older citizens of America.

This movie is based on a non-fiction book of the same name by Jessica Bruder. Moreover, it is worth noting that the complete title of the said book is “Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century.” Thus, The lives of these folks were adversely impacted by the slowdown in the USA’s economy. So, this film narrates a heart-touching story.

Trailer of the Nomadland (2021) Movie

Synopsis [official] of the Nomadland (2021) Movie

Following the economic collapse of a company town in rural Nevada, Fern (Frances McDormand) packs her van and sets off on the road exploring a life outside of conventional society as a modern-day nomad. The third feature film from director Chloé Zhao, NOMADLAND features real nomads Linda May, Swankie and Bob Wells as Fern’s mentors and comrades in her exploration through the vast landscape of the American West.

Spoilers Free Review of the Nomadland (2021) Movie

The introduction

Following the Great Recession from 2007 to 2009, this film delves deep into the phenomenon of older Americans who have adopted nomadic lifestyles. They travel around America in search of seasonal work, thereby earning a living to sustain themselves financially. It is a tough life for all of them. This realistic movie tells a bitter-sweet tale about the so-called chasing of the American Dream.

Author Jessica Bruder’s book and the core content of the film

Here is what the author Jessica Bruder said about her book, from which this film is inspired.

From the beet fields of North Dakota to the National Forest campgrounds of California to Amazon’s CamperForce program in Texas, employers have discovered a new, low-cost labor pool, made up largely of transient older Americans. Finding that social security comes up short, often underwater on mortgages, these invisible casualties of the Great Recession have taken to the road by the tens of thousands in late-model RVs, travel trailers, and vans, forming a growing community of nomads: migrant laborers who call themselves “workampers.

Jessica Bruder | Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century

The positives

So, this realistic contemporary tale is about the economic hardships being endured by commoners. We reiterate that this heartbreaking movie is beautifully shot, directed and acted. One feels a range of emotions while watching this movie. Sometimes it makes one happy and most times it causes sadness. One must appreciate Frances McDormand, Chloé Zhao, Joshua James Richards and the entire team of this film. All of them have performed excellently.

The conclusion

When we re-watched this movie during the COVID-19 lockdown period, we wondered about the fate of millions of daily-wage earners in India (and around the world), who lost their jobs and livelihoods. Such are the harsh realities of our lives. Whether we live and survive in the communist, socialist, capitalist, or mixed economy; we all the common (proletariat) people live in some kind of Nomadland.

Ratings of the 2021 Movie about the Great Recession (2007-2009)

FM’s rating	4.05/5
Rotten Tomatoes ratings as of the date	93% Tomatometer & 82% Audience Score
Rotten Tomatoes/Critics Consensus	A poetic character study of the forgotten and downtrodden, this film beautifully captures the restlessness left in the wake of the Great Recession.
Rotten Tomatoes/Audience Says	Hang in there with its slow pace and downer of a story — Frances McDormand is fantastic, and this beautifully filmed drama may even help you appreciate your own life more.

Key Details about the Nomadland (2021) Movie

Genre	Drama
Released	February 2021
Age-restrictions	UA
Director	Chloé Zhao
Writers	Chloé Zhao, Jessica Bruder
Taglines	Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century
Cast	Frances McDormand, David Strathairn, Linda May, Gay DeForest, etc. {Except for Frances McDormand and David Strathairn, most of the cast members in the film are actual nomads and local people, listing their real first names for their nomads/local characters.}

Focus:- bonus information about actress Frances McDormand

She was great in Fargo among other films

Ever since the days of the Fargo (1996) film, we have been a great fan of the phenomenal actress Frances McDormand. Now with this film, she has won her third Best Actress Oscar Award from the Academy. Thankfully, we have seen all the movies mentioned below. And we cannot forget her act in Fargo, even now, a couple of decades later. Perhaps she is the first Hollywood actress the achieve such a feat.

• 69th Annual Academy Awards® in 1997 – Best Actress for her performance in “Fargo”
• 90th Oscars® in 2018 – Best Actress for her performance in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
• 93rd Oscars® in 2021 – Best Actress for her role in “Nomadland”

We learnt about her dedication to the art

Frances is truly an immensely gifted and highly dedicated actress. You know, some of the remarkable facts, that we learnt is that in this Nomadland picture, Frances McDormand is in every scene. Also, the fact that many of Frances McDormand’s co-stars in this film had no idea she was a Hollywood star. Further, we discovered the detail that Frances performed several of the jobs done by people who do nomadic work, such as harvesting beets as well as doing packaging work for Amazon orders; throughout a four to five months period while shooting for this movie in seven different states of the USA.

Check out her pictures/poster

So, for real, Frances adopted a nomadic lifestyle during the making of this film. Thus, she was constantly on the move to make the film seem more convincing and truthful. We have shared a couple of photographs of Frances McDormand in this article, which paints a haunting portrayal of a woman in her sixties, who has lost everything during the Great Recession and then she decides to adopt a tough life of a nomad in the American West.

Poster of the Nomadland (2021) Movie

Awards won by the 2021 Movie about the Great Recession (2007-2009)

Awards Names	Details about the Awards Winners
Academy Awards, USA – 2021	Best Motion Picture of the Year – Winner Oscar Frances McDormand – Winner Oscar – Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role – {Frances McDormand is the first actress to win for acting as well as producing for the same film.} Chloé Zhao – Winner Oscar – Best Achievement in Directing – {First Asian Woman to win for Best Director}
BAFTA Awards – 2021	Winner – BAFTA Film Award – Best Film Frances McDormand – Winner – BAFTA Film Award – Best Leading Actress Chloé Zhao – Winner – BAFTA Film Award – Best Director Joshua James Richards – Winner – BAFTA Film Award – Best Cinematography
Golden Globes, USA – 2021	Winner – Golden Globe – Best Motion Picture – Drama Chloé Zhao – Winner Golden Globe – Best Director – Motion Picture

If you like watching Nomadland movies dealing with serious subject matters, then check out the Bheed (2023) film from India.

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Featured & Other Images: Nomadland | Searchlight Pictures.