How to watch Nomadland in UK: stream the Oscar winner online now

(Image credit: Searchlight Pictures)

What do you get when you combine Frances McDormand, acclaimed auteur Chloé Zhao, and the Oscar-nominated producer of Call Me By Your Name, Peter Spears? Awards dynamite, that’s what!

In the UK, Disney Plus subscribers can now watch Nomadland at no extra cost, so Brits will easily be able to catch the exquisitely understated drama that made the critics swoon in 2020 and emerged as the big winner at this year's Oscars.

How to watch Nomadland online

Available to stream from: April 30, 2021

Director: Chloé Zhao

Cast: Frances McDormand, David Strathairn, Linda May, Bob Wells, Swankie, Derek Enders

Run time: 108 minutes

Stream now: Disney Plus

Based on Jessica Bruder’s non-fiction book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century, the movie finds middle-aged Fern (McDormand) unemployed after the economic collapse of her Nevada home town.

With few prospects, she sells all her belongings and drives off across America, seeking a greater sense of peace in the nomadic lifestyle. Along the way she falls in with a group of fellow wanderers: experiencing hardship and grief, joy and freedom, against the majestic backdrop of the American West.

This skeletal story might sound trite, but it powerfully resonates. McDormand is profoundly engaging as an actress, and as Fern, a woman worn down by life’s tough realities, she’s quietly devastating. Meanwhile, writer-director Zhao – who stunned critics with 2017’s The Rider – brings an understated, earthy, documentary sensibility to Nomadland, which helps to render the reality of life on society's periphery.

Prepare to be floored by a modern masterpiece as we detail how you can watch Nomadland online, and exclusively on Disney Plus in the UK.

Disney Plus price: make sure you're getting the best deal today

How to watch Nomadland online now

From April 30, Disney Plus is giving you a front-row seat to one of the most acclaimed films of 2020. In Australia, Nomadland is exclusive to stream on Disney Plus, so you won’t find this pitch-perfect neo-western drama anywhere else.

All you’ll need is a basic subscription to Disney Plus. It starts at only £7.99 a month, though you can purchase a whole year up front for just £79.90, which is equivalent to getting two months for free.

Along with Disney's huge selection of family-friendly films and TV shows, the subscription price also grants you access to the entire Star catalogue, which brings a large helping of adult-oriented content to the service.

What else should I know about Disney+?

Disney Plus is showing no signs of slowing down since the service first launched. Nomadland is just the latest in a string of recent blockbuster releases exclusive to the platform, including Soul, The Mandalorian, Mulan, Hamilton, WandaVision and much more.

That's on top of the vast content array it launched with. Naturally all the classic Disney and Pixar films are there, together with every episode of The Simpsons and everything Marvel and Star Wars.

The streaming service has apps for iOS and Android (of course), and is available to watch online via the likes of Amazon Fire TV Stick, PS4, Xbox One and Roku streaming devices.

The already vast amount of content available on Disney Plus recently doubled in many regions, thanks to a new channel, Star on Disney Plus, which will bring much of the content the House of Mouse now owns through its Fox acquisition to the service.

This means the platform will finally offer a more healthy amount of grown-up shows and movies, with Family Guy, Solar Opposites, Love, Victor, Big Sky and Helstrom among the content that's going to be available on Disney Plus Star. It's available in the UK, most of Europe, and other select markets like Australia and New Zealand - but not in the US, where the media giant's Hulu service already has very similar ground covered.

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Daniel Pateman is a freelance writer, producing articles across the cultural spectrum for magazines like Aesthetica, Photomonitor, The Brooklyn Rail and This is Tomorrow. He also provides text-writing services to individual curators and artists worldwide, and has had work published internationally. His favourite film genre is horror (bring on Scream 5!) and he never tires of listening to Absolute 80s on the radio.