I saw the movie Nomadland last night on Hulu. Meh. The fimmaking was visually beautiful and Frances McDormand was outstanding, but... it seemed like there was no story there. I felt like the movie never really engaged me or pulled me in. I didn't think McDormand's character was all that well developed, and the movie never made clear what was driving her. She starts nowhere, goes nowhere, and doesn't learn anything along the way. I have a feeling that is the point -- yes, exactly! she's going nowhere, and has nowhere to go... get it? -- but that's a hard trick to pull off in a film, and this one doesn't accomplish it.

The script felt as emotionally disconnected as its main character was. A lot of the critical attention seems to make a fuss about how the movie gives us a glimpse of this nomadic underclass, but I don't think it really did that well either; it shied away from that side of the story almost entirely, unlike the book.

Near the end it does seem to reach for a couple moment-of-truth scenes that have potential but end up as small beans. Those moments call more attention to the flatness of the script & plotline than they serve to move the needle toward actual drama.

I don't think I've ever been disappointed by a Frances McDormand film before. Maybe it's just me, but I thought Neverland was a big letdown.