So, here we are back at the pictures.
This is where the nonsense stops.
This, is Return of the Screen
For film #1 I of course chose this years big Oscar winner. Had big ol’ expectations going into this one, not least because it trumped my darling Sound of Metal. My initial plan for the outbreak of cinema had been to set up camp at the first showing of the day (11:15) and watch back-to-back flicks until the day’s close. Could have fit 3 or 4 in, with time to spare for a cheese cob and a mooch around F&F’s superb clothing selection. F&F; where you can get the latest styles in kids', men's and women's clothes at affordable prices. Available in 607 selected stores across the UK.
Anyway, I ended up not doing that at all. Had a quiet word with myself to calm down. So instead I decided to spread this extravaganza over the next few weeks and maybe even months, diary (and unemployment) permitting. All this shall be wrapped up nicely in this here blog, set to be one of the top 20 post-covid restrictions cinema blogs written by an under-30 in the North Warwickshire area.
Nomadland is a film of deep humanity set against a backdrop of heartbreaking loss.
A widowed woman living in a van and traveling across America chasing seasonal work. Her husband died. Her town’s industry collapsed. The existence of her home perished, it’s postcode became obsolete. Address unknown, no such number, no such soul. The sign of a drastically changing society, no longer reliant on industries that were once strong enough to not only support communities but to create them.
The gentleness of this film is framed by its evasion of standard structure and narrative. We are not set up for any events. We quietly enter Fern’s world and we quietly leave it, just as it was, with only ‘life’ occurring in between. Thats life! Things happen and things don’t happen, and for me that was the real, modest core of Nomadland’s message.
The numerous friendships throughout the film are simultaneously deep and ephemeral. The nomads do not have a desperation to cling to people and build solid ground, they come and go as they do. If they meet they will bond, when its time to go they will go. I think this is down to their increased sensitivity to others, they naturally reach an immediate level of understanding with nomadic strangers that would take ‘city folk’ some time and experience to build.
I have read reviews that criticise Nomadland’s use of both professional and non-professional actors but for me this was what gave the film its balance. I didn’t know beforehand that there was this mix, but I guessed at it as I watched them give heartfelt stories of their lives. Having the virtuosity of Frances McDormand at the film’s centre, leading us through with ‘real people’ on the periphery is a way of finely tuning a sense of reality into a film, a film being fundamentally non-reality. The micro-mannerisms that McDormand is able to employ are so real that she can slip seamlessly amongst the documenting of the genuine, un-acted cast members.
Many aspects of Nomadland reminded me of The Florida Project, and it does seem to occupy the same niche. For me, the latter is the better film, but maybe thats just because I really like bright pink and swearing. Although I don’t feel I’d rush to see this again for a while, I’d certainly recommend it. It’s beautifully shot and has a sweetness running through it that anyone can appreciate. It’s human.
As McDormand advised us; “go and see it at the cinema”. There’s a whole lot of big American sky to drink in, and you ain’t gonna fit that on your iPad.
