Adnerb the Movie Nerd

Movie reviews from a middle school teacher's perspective

Nomadland

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Apple Rating:

This is one of the movies up for a best picture Academy Award and I wouldn’t be surprised it took home the Oscar. This is a compelling story full of sadness and hope. At the heart of the story is Frances McDormand, brilliant as usual, playing a tough, independent woman named Fern. Fern has lost everything, her husband, her home, and her job. Even her home is empty, deserted in a town that has turned into a ghost town. So she takes to the road and is living a nomadic existence. She lives in her van, traveling the more unsettled parts of America and taking various odd jobs in different cities and campgrounds. Along the way, we are introduced to a variety of intriguing characters. Some embrace their nomadic lifestyle; while for others, it is a tragic happenstance of life that took them out on the road. But there is an indisputable comradeship and mutual support and faith that she finds with her fellow travelers. Despite everything that Fern goes through, she never loses her indomitable spirit and her joyous exaltation of nature. I have read that some of the actors in the movie were real nomads who didn’t have any idea that Frances was an actress. They tell heartbreaking, enthralling stories that you will not soon forget.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

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Apple Rating:

You may not have heard of this movie, but when the academy award season hits, I think you will find some nominations going to this little gem.  Frances McDormand gives a first rate performance in this dark drama, with hints of comedy, which is quirky in a Coen Brothers way.  In fact, I actually laughed out loud during this movie more than I have during some of the so-called comedies I’ve seen lately.  McDormand plays Mildred Hayes, a hard edged, uncompromising woman who is still reeling from the brutal unsolved murder of her teen aged daughter. The easy going, somewhat bucolic, police department seems to her to have forgotten all about her daughter, which causes her to do some drastic things, which build and lead to unintended consequences.   Mildred pays for three billboards that she hopes will motivate the local cops to take notice and do something to solve the crime.   These billboards spark various acts of violence and even civil disobedience that end in a lesson in what happens when people let rage and anger dictate their actions.  Woody Harrelson is fine as the sheriff, but the surprise gem in this movie is Sam Rockwell, as a seemingly dimwitted, rather crass police officer who lives with his mother, lets anger get the better of him; but who finds redemption in the end.   I would not be surprised if he gets an Oscar nod for his performance.    If you want to get away from super hero movies and big budget special effects, I highly recommend seeing this movie.