SPOILER ALERT: the following article contains massive spoilers, including the ending. If you have not yet seen the movie, proceed at your own risk, or better, come back to this article later!
A woman embarks on a journey through the American West after losing everything during the recession.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Nomadland Video Summary
Nomadland Plot Summary and Synopsis
In 2011, Fern loses her job after the US Gypsum plant in Empire, Nevada shuts down; she worked there for years along with her husband who recently died. Fern decides to sell most of her belongings and purchase a van to live in and travel the country searching for work. She takes a seasonal job at an Amazon fulfillment center through the winter.
Linda, a friend, and co-worker invites Fern to visit a desert rendezvous in Arizona organized by Bob Wells, which provides a support system and community for fellow nomads. Fern initially declines but changes her mind as the weather turns cold and she struggles to find work in the area. At the rendezvous, Fern meets fellow nomads and learns basic survival and self-sufficiency skills for the road.
Later, Fern’s van blows a tire; she visits the van of nearby nomad Swankie to ask for a ride into town to buy a spare. Swankie chastises Fern for not being prepared, and invites her to learn more road survival skills; they become good friends. Swankie tells Fern about her cancer diagnosis and shortened life expectancy, and her plan to make good memories on the road rather than waste away in a hospital. They eventually part ways.
Fern later takes a job as a camp host at an RV park, where she runs into David, another nomad she met and danced with back at the desert community. She cares for David when he falls ill, accompanying him to the hospital for emergency surgery. The two of them later take restaurant jobs at Wall Drug in South Dakota. One night David’s adult son visits the restaurant looking for him, informing David that his wife is pregnant and asking him to come to meet his grandchild. David is hesitant, but Fern encourages him to go. David asks her to come with him, but she declines.
Fern takes a new job at a beet harvest, but her van breaks down and she can’t afford the repairs. After calling friends to ask to borrow money, she visits her sister’s family at their home. Her sister loans her the money, but questions why Fern was never around in their life and why Fern stayed in Empire after her husband passed away. Fern later goes to visit David and his son’s family; she learns that David has decided to stay with them long-term. He admits feelings for her and invites her to stay permanently, but she decides to leave after only a few days.
Fern returns to her seasonal Amazon job and later revisits the Arizona rendezvous. There she learns that Swankie has died, and she and the other nomads pay tribute to her life. Fern later opens up with Bob about her loving relationship with her late husband, and Bob shares the story of his adult son’s recent suicide. Bob espouses the fact that goodbyes are not final in the nomad community, as they always promise to see each other again down the road.
The Ending
Sometime later, Fern returns to the abandoned town of Empire to visit the factory and the home she shared with her husband before hitting the road again.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0).