“Nomadland” Cinematographer Talks About The Film’s Realistic Approach

Nomadland is one of the most anticipated films coming out in the early months of this year. Many are looking at the Chloe Zhao directed film as a frontrunner on the awards circuit. In fact, the movie actually took home the top prize at the Venice film festival last year, so it seems that the feature is more than living up to the hype.

The Frances McDormand-led film follows a woman named Fern living an exceedingly unconventional life. She loses everything as a result of the Great Recession and she decides to live out of her van while traveling across the western United States, essentially functioning as a modern-day nomad.

Critics have taken to the earnest and direct tone of the project, with most praising it’s realistic portrayal of financial ruin in the present day, with McDormand’s portrayal of the broken heroine being hailed as exceptional. Now, ahead of the film’s February 19th debut on Hulu, the productions cinematographer, Joshua James Richards, opened up to Deadline about what brought him to Nomadland and the realistic approach that was taken with the movie:

The process [always] starts in a very one-on-one, humanistic way, of Chloé going in and truly being interested in these environments, and these people and communities. It’s collaborating with them in telling their story, first and foremost, and you really feel like you’re a vocal instrument in the process. Me, Chloe, Fran, these nomads and this environment are all pieces in this collaboration, and you’re all kind of feeling it as you go along. I feel like I have a purpose in filmmaking because I just feel like people like this are a dying breed. I meet them and they’re like these characters from another time, sort of a bygone era before the internet. And getting to capture them in this time in America is just a privilege, getting to know their stories and looking into their world.

It’ll be interesting to see how this movie out, but it’s shaping up to be one of the better dramas of the season, and if things keep progressing this way it might be a shoe in for Best Actress and/or Best Picture come Oscar time. In addition to its Hulu release, Nomadland will be getting an IMAX release on at select theaters on January 29^th.