Our Souls at Night (2017)
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Two lonely neighbors decide to spend their nights together to combat their solitude.
The story
Set in the fictitious small Colorado city of Holt, widower Louis Waters and widow Addie Moore have been neighbors for decades but hardly know each other. One evening, Addie visits Louis and proposes they spend their nights together, not necessarily sexually, to counter their loneliness and help them sleep. Although Louis is initially somewhat taken aback, he asks for time to think about it. A short time later, after Louis meets up in town with other like-aged men who regularly negatively gossip about people in town, he soon calls Addie and agrees. Initially, they interact awkwardly, as he admits he talks little.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Set in the fictitious small Colorado city of Holt, widower Louis Waters and widow Addie Moore have been neighbors for decades but hardly know each other. One evening, Addie visits Louis and proposes they spend their nights together, not necessarily sexually, to counter their loneliness and help them sleep. After some hesitation, Louis agrees. They begin spending their evenings and nights at Addie's house. As they get to know each other, Addie encourages Louis to enter through the front door despite potential gossip. Louis eventually reveals his past extramarital affair to his group of friends. During the summer, Addie's son Gene drops off his son Jamie, who stays with Addie; the two adults adopt a dog for the boy and take him camping. Gene eventually confronts Addie about her relationship with Louis, but she refuses to break it off. Louis and Addie eventually become physically intimate in a Denver hotel. Later, Addie is hospitalized after a fall. When her son Jamie calls in distress, Addie decides to move in with Gene and Jamie to prioritize family. She and Louis spend one last night together before returning to sleeping alone. They remain in contact as old friends, talking over the phone.
- First release year
- 2017
- Runtime (minutes)
- 101
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Ritesh Batra
- Writers
- Scott Neustadter · screenplay; Michael H. Weber · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Robert Redford · Louis Waters; Jane Fonda · Addie Moore; Iain Armitage · Jamie Moore, Gene's son and Addie's grandson; Matthias Schoenaerts · Gene Moore, Addie's son and Jamie's father; Judy Greer · Holly Waters, Louis' daughter; Phyllis Somerville · Ruth Joyce, Addie's friend; Bruce Dern · Dorlan Becker; Frederick "Fred" White Osborne · the table patron at the Brown Hotel
- Genres
- romantic drama
- Themes
- loneliness; aging; widowhood; friendship
- Tone and mood
- quiet; romantic
- Premise and plot tags
- romantic drama; based on a novel; Netflix original
- Source material / true-story basis
- 2015 novel by Kent Haruf
- Reception
- The film received acclaim from critics, who appreciated the film's direction, adaptation from the novel, and performances (especially Fonda's). Critics generally praised the casting of Fonda and Redford and their chemistry together.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 69 · scale: 100 · review count: 15
- Production trivia
- It marked the final collaboration between Fonda and Redford.; The first two words of the title sound like 'arseholes' in British vernacular.; Robert Redford had an uncredited role in Fonda's first film, Tall Story.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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