Nomadland Review: 9 Ups & 1 Down

Downs...

1. The Occasionally Heavy-Handed Dialogue

Nomadland Frances McDormand
Searchlight Pictures

There is so, so little to complain about in this movie, so this is really more of a nitpick than a real issue, but there are certainly a few moments where the dialogue feels a tad contrived.

As naturalistic as most of the chatter between Fern and her traveling pals seems, on occasion some of the overt social commentary re: the economy, the government's failure to provide for its citizens and so on feels laid a tad too thickly.

The film is largely so brilliantly subtle that its few soapbox-y moments stand out somewhat, perhaps in part because many of these lines are spoken by the non-professional actors McDormand is generally working opposite (who are otherwise very good, it has to be said).

A few contrived slivers of dialogue can't do much to detract from Nomadland's overwhelming power, though. Here's why you absolutely need to see it...

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Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.