Nomadland is a beautiful and often sad film. It tells the story of a woman who sets out on the road to live out of her van following the death of her husband and the loss of her job. She takes temporary work positions for Amazon while on the road. The film also portrays modern nomadic van culture, with real-life individuals acting as story characters.
There are a number of themes the film portrays. These include the continued industrialization of developed societies and its effect on the working class, a feeling of being lost in a changing world, aspects of social support, and how a lifetime full of experiences can shape people.
There is also a primary theme of grief and complicated grief in Nomadland. The Nomadland cast and acting, screenwriting, and production constitute an extremely good portrayal of these grief experiences. What I write here is not a diagnosis. But it does describe a difficult experience people can have.
Click to watch Nomadland streaming, starring Frances McDormand and David Strathairn
Grief and Prolonged Grief
Grief itself is a complex and multilayered phenomenon. It is a natural experience. Virtually everyone will go through it at some time in their lives. And there is no “right” or “wrong” way to grieve. Research has also uncovered many new findings on the nature of grief that go against the previous Western Cultural understandings of grief and loss. This great book tells more.
Many experience grief following the loss of a close loved one. The experience of grief often lasts a few weeks to a few months before feeling relatively “normal” again. People never forget the individual they lost or the impact that person had on their lives. But they eventually feel they are able to re-engage in their routines without fixed attention on the lost individual or intense sadness.
For some people, grief can remain at high levels for an extremely long period of time. Sometimes people experience grief for years or even decades. This is often referred to as prolonged grief or complicated grief.
Complicated grief is painful to experience. It can feel similar to depression (though it is somewhat unique to depression or trauma). Constantly thinking about a lost individual, pining over them, and isolating from others is part of prolonged grief.
It also tends to get in the way of what people value in their lives. These experiences can completely occupy our attention and interfere with the ability to pursue the things we enjoy or value. This can include interpersonal relationships, work-life, and/or hobbies.
Grief in Nomadland
Complicated grief in Nomadland is an extremely accurate depiction of this experience. The main character in the film, Fern (played by Frances McDormand), experiences the loss of her husband, Beau. He passes away some time before the opening of the film. As the film progresses, we eventually learn about this loss.
It is difficult to know how much time has elapsed since her husband’s passing. It is also difficult to know exactly what is occurring in her head (although dialogue gives us clues).
But it is clear that Fern is having a difficult time with her husband’s passing. She seems to experience a sense of deep sadness when talking about Beau. Fern also seems deeply attached to memories of him. She appears to experience a low mood for much of the film.
Fern’s experiences are common for grief in general. But her experiences are also characteristic of complicated grief. It is very common for an individual to spend a lot of time among the deceased individual’s belongings. In the film, she holds on to and spends time with Beau’s old jacket for as long as she can. She also talks about how she does not believe she could remove her old wedding ring. In another part of the film, she is unable to stay away from places they shared.
Effects of Complicated Grief in General
Complicated grief can also have many effects on people’s lives. Throughout life, we as humans are always evolving and developing. Complicated grief can get in the way of what people value or hope to get out of life.
Complicated grief can make people feel as though they are not developing or pursuing new aspects of their life. They are usually completely focused on an old life. New research suggests that this may actually be due to a loss of identity following a loss.
This experience is also depicted in complicated grief in Nomadland. Continuing to grieve contributes to many difficulties for Fern. It is difficult for her to pursue new opportunities to develop her life and to boost her low mood.
Fern meets many people on the road, but in many ways, she remains isolated. At points, she rejects offers for social support and for building new close relationships.
Fern also meets Dave, played by David Strathairn. Dave appears to have great affection for her. This new friendship provides chances to engage in a new romantic relationship with Dave as well as other fruitful relationships with his friends and family members.
These relationships bring the opportunity for increased additional social support, a relationship with an apparently emotionally stable individual, financial stability, and the chance for a permanent home. These opportunities are even explicitly offered to her by Dave at one point in the film.
Effects of Complicated Grief on Fern’s Life
Fern rejects these opportunities for support and the development of a new life. She is unable to identify with any possible life other than her old life with her husband. Instead, she returns to her old home where she and her husband lived and worked together.
Their desert town and home are abandoned. They appear to be a ghost of what they once were – an old life that no longer exists. Fern’s attention is still fixed on that old life. She is unable to connect with ways to develop a new one.
Fern’s difficulty moving on is not morally a bad thing or undesirable. It is simply an observation of what can happen for humans who experience complicated grief.
Fern’s return to the road at the end of the film may suggest she begins to move on. So there may be hope for her character to approach her loss in new ways. As a literary work, that possibility would be open to the viewer.
Watch to see a great depiction of complicated grief in Nomadland. A great film overall! –Dr. Matt B
