Nomadland

McDormand gives one of the quietest, most powerful performances of her career as a woman living on and discovering the joys of the road in this affecting, memorable drama. Because it features real members of the "home on wheels" community -- several of whom are the same nomads featured in Bruder's source article and book -- Nomadland has a documentary-like feel, capturing the various bittersweet reasons that these folks have given up staying in one place, retiring on Social Security, and paying oversized mortgages or rents. Joshua James Richards' outstanding cinematography highlights the lush landscapes of every town that Fern temporarily calls home. The American Dream may have failed Fern and her friends, but now they get to experience the natural beauty of the United States, even as it contrasts with the occasionally dirty work they take to have that privilege.

Zhao and McDormand's creative partnership here is remarkable. McDormand, who's also one of the film's producers, is peerless as Fern. It's difficult to imagine almost anyone else in her generation excelling in the part, except for perhaps her old Raising Arizona co-star and friend, Holly Hunter. Ever the character actor, Strathairn is excellent as Dave, who wants to spend as much time by Fern's side as possible. But Fern isn't as interested in romance as she is in friendship, and she'd rather sleep in Vanguard (her white van) than a guest room any day. As she says to a younger friend's well-meaning teen daughter who bumps into her in a store: "I'm not homeless, I'm just houseless -- not the same thing, right." Like Christopher McCandless before his fatal trip to Alaska in Into the Wild, Fern grows fond of her experiences on the road, tramping not in a train but in her van, being part of a community that lives in an unconventional but fulfilling way that allows them to see the vastness of the country on their own terms.