Nomadland is the kind of film that keeps you thinking about it long after the closing credits. Golden Globe®-winning writer-director Chloé Zhao made the film largely in secret, after news broke that she'd be helming Marvel’s Eternals. Gathering a small crew for her arresting docu-drama, Zhao's film examines the nomad lifestyle that older Americans have flocked to out of either necessity or desire. Frances McDormand headlines alongside many real life nomads Zhao found while on the road. There’s much to be learned for filmmakers and screenwriters alike, perhaps, above all else, embracing freedom and being adaptable — much like the lifestyle of those highlighted in the film. Here are your five screenwriting takeaways from Nomadland. 

1. Love, Vanguard.  Zhao recently told Indiewire she cannot take on a film unless she is absolutely in love with the subject matter. The biggest lesson however, she states, came from another filmmaker who told her: “Passion does not sustain, but curiosity does.” That curiosity (and passion) absolutely carries over to the Nomadland. Zhao, McDormand as lead character Fern, and the crew all took up the van life of their own to get the movie made, embarking into the great American West for four months in 2018. McDormand deemed her van “Vanguard” and the name stuck for a touching scene in the movie, as Fern gives a fellow nomad a tour of her very modest (but beloved) living space. Writers and filmmakers can take a lesson from both Fern and Zhao, in that passion for practice translates to the screen. 

2. Grounded Connection.  Fern’s stand-out relationship in the film (aside from with fellow nomads she meets on the road) is with romantic interest David Strathairn, who plays Dave. The relationship is gentle, sweet, and more is said between them working together silently in a kitchen than what could be expressed through words. Their relationship is moving, yet no declarations of love are made, nor is a kiss ever shared. Perhaps it’s the reality of their circumstances, or simply that their chosen lives demand some loneliness in order to succeed. Either way, writers can learn from their restraint in that occasionally, connections are made stronger with things left unsaid. 

3. Landscape as Character.  It’s not Zhao’s first rodeo shooting the landscape of the American West, but her vision of her setting remains striking. Zhao, who has stated she was heavily influenced by Terrence Malik, does an excellent job contrasting the emptiness of the South Dakota Badlands with the warmth her subjects create, often making something out of nothing. This feels particularly striking when Zhao and her team visit the real life nomad gathering at Rubber Tramp Rendezvous, where founder Bob Wells espouses the glory of van dwelling to a crowd of eager supporters.  

Final Takeaway: Remarkably, Nomadland is Zhao’s first studio movie. It’s remarkable in that Zhao manages to make it feel like an intimate journey with a gathered group of friends, and in that way, Zhao has been incredibly true to the nomad lifestyle. It’s not easy, but when time is made to stop and appreciate the freedom, those who have two feet on the ground, and listen to the stories one encounters, it can, sometimes, be magical.