Nomadland Review: 9 Ups & 1 Down

Ups...

9. Chloé Zhao's Amazing, Oscar-Worthy Direction

Though Chloé Zhao will likely be catapulted into the Hollywood A-list when she releases Marvel's Eternals next year, before that there's an exceedingly strong chance she ends up the first-ever Asian woman nominated for the Best Director Oscar - and perhaps the second-only woman ever to win it (after Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker).

As with her previous film The Rider, Zhao has an enormous amount of restraint with the way she stages scenes, refusing to tease out melodrama and simply letting shots last as long as they need to.

Much of the film has the intimacy and implied authenticity of a documentary, a testament to her non-intrusive camerawork as she follows Fern on her journey across America.

Though Zhao will face stiff competition for the Best Director gong this year - especially from David Fincher with Mank - her sublime work here is proof perfect that awards-worthy filmmaking need not be excessively showy or draw too much attention to itself.