Editor's Note: For the fourth consecutive year, Dawn and The Husband will be spending a few nights attending the Toronto International Film Festival, known to the locals as TIFF. While they can now proudly call themselves seasoned veterans at this madness, CoVid-19 has altered the way in which films will be screened this year. TIFF has also dramatically scaled back their roster and as such, they have selected a very modest number of films, (3). Because they are old and congregating in a movie theatre is anathema in this pandemic time, all films will be screened from the comfort of their living room complete with popcorn, a few homemade treats, and lights appropriately dimmed. The only phone call that will be answered during the viewing of these world premieres is from Molly because grandchildren rule. TIFF still serves as a tremendous distraction from the world's ills, the impending High Holidays, and an asshole would-be dictator whose names rhyme with Dump. The next several posts will focus exclusively on TIFF and will offer very quick bullet point reviews for the world premiere movies seen.
There is a bleakness and profound sadness that can be seen in Fern's face in the opening moments of Nomadland. It is the visage of somebody who has seen pain and loss and understands them both to her core. But there is something else as well. There is a fulsome determination to move forward by a woman who has been left completely alone by circumstance and needs to find a way to survive. Her fierce need for independence is tempered by the community of nomads she meets on the road (most of them played in the film by actual members of the American nomadic fraternity) and the series of temp jobs she must take in order to keep her head above water.
Frances McDormand's Fern is a woman who all at once grieves her previous life but also comes to embrace the road ahead. Her face, seemingly elastic as only the features of a person who is weathered by time and conditions can be, is like a roadmap into her deepest emotions. She smiles at her new friends, is touched by their acceptance of her, and shows real impatience when a fellow traveller takes a shine to her. She is on the lowest side of this sliding economic scale of nomads but it doesn't make her less than in the eyes of the community. In a question and answer section given after the premiere, McDormand is emphatic in her discussion of the real-life nomads.
"Each individual who goes on the road has to be self-reliant,” she said, “but they do gather for Rubber Tyre Rendezvous because they need community for knowledge. I guess you would call it a socialist situation, where it’s all for one and one for all. The choice of van they use for their mobile lives has a lot to do with the economic disparities in our country, but Chloe (director Zhao) is not trying to make a political statement. Instead, we are leading you to a community which is making very difficult decisions for themselves and she is telling their story.”
Nomadland is a visually stunning film with a score that perfectly captures the vistas from the road. It is a film that is almost poetic in how it captures this story of an average woman doing something that most of us would think to be extraordinary and yet, isn't. Chloe Zhao has created a masterpiece and Frances McDormand is absolutely one of the finest actors of her generation.
We didn't go out of our way to choose films helmed by women directors this year at TIFF but rather, TIFF is going out of its way to feature more women behind the camera. It is to all of our benefits in hearing stories told with a different lens and a different arc. I chose Nomadland as one of our films this year because Frances McDormand is one of The Husband's favourite actors. It doesn't hurt that she is Coen Brothers-adjacent, but mostly it is that she is truly brilliant in her versatility and never hedges in her painful acting choices. To tell more about this magnificent film would be to spoil it for all of you who must see it when it is widely distributed in December.
Nomadland is at the highest level of two YUPS. We simply loved this movie.
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