Laura and Ant, I think you've zeroed in the two themes which came to me as I was watching the movie. I picked up loss while reading the script, but it really comes home in the movie.
Laura, that line from Bob, that's worthy of inclusion in the Dialogue comments. It's interesting, isn't it, that it takes Fern ALL THAT TIME to get to a point where she can confess, as Ant points out, where she's spend too much time living in the shadow of Beau and his death. Think on this: As long as we do NOT find closure about the loss of a loved one, somehow they remain "alive." It's only when we DO find that closure that they truly "die" (I'm speaking psychologically, of course.) I think that is a key aspect of Fern's disunity nature.
The big revelation for me in our discussion this week is I interpret the very ending in a different light. When I read the script, then watched the movie, I felt sad at the end. I really wanted Fern to settle down with Dave's family. It wasn't so much about Dave as it was a sense of home.
The reflections of folks this week caused me to rethink the ending. It's obvious to me now: Fern could NEVER have settled down like that. The Final Struggle is still the same, but instead of a melancholy rejection of home, I think what happened in that moment was it propelled Fern to go back to Empire and FINALLY say good-bye. To that life, those memories, and most especially married life with Beau. The fact the movie ends with a shot of Vanguard heading on down the road - not like the script! - really does make the point Ant makes: Fern has found a... I'm not sure purpose is the right word exactly... but a LIFE she wants to lead. HER life. Not avoiding-grief-and-Beau's-death life, one of escape FROM, but one of journey TO. Maybe it is best described as purpose, but in a way, that final image is like the very beginning of the sequel: Nomadland II: Fern's Life.
If I had the chance to meet Chloé Zhao and had one question I could ask her, it would be this: Why did you add that final image of Fern driving down the road (it's actually a shot of the van, not showing Fern at all)? Why add that compared to the script which has Fern exiting her old home in Empire, out the back door, head left, and that's it? I wonder if she screen-tested the movie and added it to make people feel better. I doubt it. It just FEELS like the end point of Fern's journey... which continues on, only now it is truly HER journey.
I've really enjoyed the discussion this week as it's truly opened my eyes to deeper layers of meaning in the story. Thanks!
