THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2021 • THE BULLETIN
GO! MAGAZINE • PAGE 17
movie times for the week of Feb. 25
BEND — MCMENAMINS
McMenamins Old St. Francis School, 700 NW Bond St., Bend,
541-382-5174, mcmenamins.com
ý Tom & Jerry (PG)
Fri: 5, 7:45
Sat, Sun: 12:15, 3
Mon, Tue: 5, 7:45
Wed: 3, 5:45
ý Younger than 21 may attend screenings if accompanied
by a legal guardian.
ý Open captioning provided for some screenings.
BEND — TIN PAN
Tin Pan Theater, 869 NW Tin Pan Alley, Bend, 541-241-2271,
tinpantheater.com
ý Ski Films in the Alley (no MPAA rating)
ý Accessibility devices are available for some movies at Regal Old
Mill Stadium 16 and IMAX and Sisters Movie House.
ý There may be an additional fee for 3D and IMAX.
ý Movie times may change after press time. Contact individual
cinemas for the most current schedules.
ý News of the World (PG-13)
Thu: 6:30
Thu: 4:20
REDMOND — ODEM PUB
ý Nomadland (R)
Odem Theater Pub, 349 SW Sixth St., Redmond, 541-425-1850,
odemtheaterpub.com
ý Minari (PG-13)
Fri-Sun: 2:55, 5:15, 7:30
Mon-Wed: 4:20, 6:40
Searchlight Pictures
Thu: 4, 6:10
Fri-Sun: 2:30, 4:40, 6:50
Mon-Wed: 4, 6:10
ý Promising Young Woman (R)
Thu: 6:40
It is a stunning
character study of
the people who
have largely been
forgotten by the
rest of society but
within their
community, they
endure and form
lasting, if short,
friendships.
Frances McDormand stars in a scene from “Nomadland,” which is streaming on Hulu.
Continued from previous page
working at an Amazon warehouse over the
holidays where others living the nomadic
life also work.
From there she makes her way to Quartz-
ite where she meets Bob Wells, a kind of
teacher to others seeking out this kind
of way of life. Through him and women
named Linda May and Swankie (all three
played by actual nomads of the same name)
and Dave (David Strathairn), Fern learns
and seems giddy with the possibility her
new lifestyle brings.
She moves on to working as a camp host
in South Dakota’s Badlands National Park
where she meets up with Dave again who is
working as a park ranger. The two develop
more of a friendship especially after he has
emergency surgery and tells her that he can
get her another job at Wall Drug serving
burgers.
They part ways when Dave learns that his
adult son James (Tay Strathairn) is about to
have a child but not before Dave asks her to
come with him. She declines.
The rest of the film is more of Fern ex-
ploring the west, taking up gig-type jobs in
various industries, struggling with being on
her own but never becoming bitter to the
fact. She relishes in her freedom.
“Nomadland” plays without much of a
thorough plot, instead it simply follows Fern
through the motions. There is no major cli-
mactic moment, rather a simpler realization
our protagonist has. It’s quiet, unassuming
and understated.
McDormand delivers, as she always does,
a magnificent performance as this woman
who has childlike awe for the vastness of the
world she finds herself in. She is kind while
she works through her grief of losing ev-
erything she has had while it may not have
been everything she wanted.
This is what she wanted. The open spaces
and roads she finds herself traveling down
lead her to encounters with people like her,
entranced by the freedom nomadic life
brings, unable to go it without the work that
comes from the gig economy.
It teeters almost on the edge of doc-
umentary-style as is typical with Zhao’s
other work, casting non-actors to perform,
giving the film another layer of authentic-
ity. McDormand herself lived some of this
nomadic life, interacting with people who
sometimes didn’t realize they were talking to
a two-time Oscar winner, working the odd
jobs her character had to and all the while
reacting genuinely to the stories being told
around her. Her captivating expressions feel
more authentic than any performance of re-
cent memory because her performance re-
ally isn’t much of a performance at all.
It is a stunning character study of the
people who have largely been forgotten by
the rest of society but within their commu-
nity, they endure and form lasting, if short,
friendships.
While the film touches on the almost an-
ti-capitalistic tones that come from being
a nomad, shirking many of the traditional
pieces of that life, but it never goes too far
down that rabbit hole.
There is a wider story to be told about the
effects the great recession had on gig work-
ers, especially those close to retirement, but
“Nomadland” isn’t that. And it doesn’t nec-
essarily try to be.
Instead, this neo-western takes us on a
voyage to the unknown and through Fern,
we see the wide-eyed wonder and fulfill-
ment that comes with freedom from nor-
malcy.
ý
Reporter: 541-383-0304, mwhittle@bendbulletin.com
Where Empowerment Replaces Fear & Knowledge Creates Options
541-788-5858
905 SW Rimrock Way Suite 100A
Nolan Town Square • Redmond, OR
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Sharon Preston