Frances McDormand delivers a career-best turn in this gently meditative drama from Chinese-American filmmaker Chloé Zhao (The Rider), which was richly rewarded at the Oscars. Based on the 2017 non-fiction book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder, it focuses on a community of van-dwellers and deals with themes surrounding the failure of the American dream, poverty and disenfranchisement in one of the world’s richest countries.

After the death of her husband, Fern (McDormand), a woman in her sixties, sees her home repossessed after becoming one of the millions of victims of the 2008 recession. With no job prospects or a place to call home, Fern embarks on a life-changing journey through the American West and becomes a van-dwelling seasonal worker. She soon realises that life on the road has given her a new lease of life.

Nomadland tells a compelling story of empowerment and non-conformity while broaching some timely social themes. Aside from McDormand and David Strathairn (recently seen in BBC’s McMafia) who stars as Fern’s would-be suitor, Zhao uses mostly non professional actors to play fictional versions of themselves.

Just like her 2017 feature The Rider — a film about a young cowboy searching for a new identity after a near-fatal accident — Zhao capitalises on the real life experiences of her non professional actors to present a genuinely awe-inspiring piece of filmmaking.

Nomadland is a beautiful slice of Americana which often feels more like a docu-drama than a narrative film, and that is where its appeal lies. Elevated by McDormand’s commendably natural performance, Nomadland delivers something new after each watch and deserves its Oscars.