Eric Pinckert

I only see about one movie a year, and this year I'm gratified I chose Nomadland (last year's was Ford vs. Ferrari -- so a change of pace to be sure). I'm not sure that younger people will appreciate this meditation on the human condition as much as I did, but I found myself genuinely moved, in part, no doubt, owing to the ineffably poignant sound design by Ludovico Einaudi and Ólafur Arnalds. I disagree with some of the other reviews that assert this is a sentimental Hollywood-lite treatment of economic hardship and homelessness. I haven't lived in a van, but I've known some folks who have and found Frances McDormand, David Strathaim, Bob Wells and the irrepressible Swankie to deliver nuanced, compelling performances. The other star of the show is the inhuman scale of the American west. I wish I had been able to see this film in a theater to more fully appreciate it. Wallace Stegner wrote that in order to appreciate the west, "You have to get over the color green; you have to quit associating beauty with gardens and lawns." As bleak as the Nevada desert looks at first blush, on closer inspection it teems with life adapted to the austerity. The lives depicted here may ones of quiet desperation, but they are also a testament to the human spirit and its ability to endure and even inspire despite the circumstances. I look forward to Ms. McDormand's next Oscar acceptance speech.