Following the pattern set by her earlier films, Chloé Zhao ’05’s “Nomadland,” which launched on Hulu and in select theaters on Friday, Feb. 19, is an intimate portrayal of an often overlooked community. Frances McDormand stars as Fern, a woman who lost her husband, her job and her town — Empire, Nevada, a real place which closed after the local factory shut down — and embarks on a journey that takes her across the country and back again in pursuit of work and meaning.