Nomadland Review: 9 Ups & 1 Down

7. Frances McDormand's Mesmerising Performance

To the surprise of nobody, Frances McDormand adds another barnstorming performance to her sizable cachet with her deeply affecting turn as a woman attempting to make sense of her past pain and find a contented future for herself.

It goes without saying that McDormand has immediately announced herself as a major contender for the Best Actress Oscar next year, even if she'll face mighty opposition from the likes of Vanessa Kirby (Pieces of a Woman), Viola Davis (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom), Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman), Jennifer Hudson (Respect), and more.

Yet despite all this and McDormand already having two Best Actress Oscars to her name, it's a performance of such extraordinary restraint and compassion that it's easy to see her scoring the three-peat.

This would make her only the fourth actress in history to win three acting Oscars, following Ingrid Bergman, Meryl Streep, and Katherine Hepburn (who also won a fourth).

No matter whether she wins or not, though, McDormand proves herself a master of minimalist expressiveness with how much feeling she can convey in a single facial expression. Incredible stuff.