Our Souls at Night - Movie Review

 Our Souls at Night: Movie Review – Ritesh Batra’s Soulful Treat

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"I just want to live simply and pay attention to what’s happening every day.” – Louis in ‘Our Souls at Night

‘Our Souls at Night is based on the last novel written by Kent Haruf and directed by Ritesh Batra. The film has all the balms that can heal us from all our regrets, guilt, loss, breakups, pain and loneliness. In fact, the film is a trip to one’s own self to identify what are those barriers within us that stop us from receiving and finding our love. It’s also about loving yourself unconditionally. It is so therapeutic that it makes you realize the beauty of living in the Here and Now.

The film ‘Our Souls at night’ hovers on two septuagenarian neighbours – a widow and a widower. They are in the autumn of their life and they try to bring back the spring in their life. And one day, a knock on the door of Louis by Addie Moore makes this miracle happen. Addie and Louis lived next door to each other for years. But she never visited him and when she did this time Addie had an interesting proposal for him. She said to him - Would you be interested in coming to my house sometime to sleep with me? Louis is baffled and says “what? She explains that she does not mean to have sex but to be together in bed and talk till they fall asleep. She adds – “The nights are worst,” and he nods and agrees.

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Taking decisions that are not aligned to social norms are quite challenging but here Louis decides to give this proposition a try. Many times we don’t require a complete fool-proof plan to take challenges. Here, we see that in this film Louis and Addie tell us that it’s about listening to your heart and believing that the universe knows what is best for you. Having said this, every decision that goes against the so-called social norms shall also invite and attract consequences. Now, how you sail through the stormy and windy path of life together, holding each other firmly evolving and growing together is what we experience as love.  And Addie does it so beautifully that when she finds Louis prefer to come to her home from the backdoor she says firmly and nicely to him that - You Know, I think that you should come through the front door next time.

Addie’s positive outlook towards life and relationship is so impactful that once a cautious Louis tells her – “So I have been thinking. I got this idea. Why don’t we go into town, have lunch just take our time and enjoy ourselves? “She is pleasantly surprised and asks him -In public? He smiles and says –‘Yes’

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Addie has her own share of past, losing her daughter, her husband’s death, dealing with her son Gene who feels hurt for his sister’s accidental death and holds resentment towards Addie for shutting him out after his sister’s death, helping him understand to mend his broken and tiresome marital relationship, and to be compassionate and caring to her grandson Jamie – a seven-year-old boy who finds solace playing video games to beat his loneliness.

And on the other side, we have Louis who has become monotonous in his daily routine living alone. He has a live volcano in his heart – the loss of his wife who battled against cancer till her last breath, a daughter who lives apart from him, and the guilt of leaving his wife and daughter for another woman and failing to do justice to both the women in his life. But he tries to accept his share of pain and loss quietly by reading newspapers, eating silently alone watching the TV and going to the nearby coffee shop to catch up with his boring old buddies.

In one of the scenes in the film, Addie says to her old friend that we all have our own past. This is such a naked truth but we are not ready to accept it in our relationships. We knowingly or unintentionally end up judging and try reaching conclusions. Addie tells us that your past mistakes have nothing to do with what you are now, look at your love afresh, change your lenses; loves is beautiful and always give a chance to fall in love again. In one of the scenes where a guilt-ridden sad Louis shares his past Addie consoles him by saying that he is a good man, a good father, a husband and a good teacher. He says yes but not a great one.

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I think most of us end up becoming sad or make our dear ones sad because we don’t realize that we/they are good and even if some of us know that we/they are good, we still feel we/they are not perfectly great. Our Souls at Night tells us that it is ok to be perfectly imperfect.

In love, in the relationship we may not be perfect, actually, most of the time love is the union of two imperfect individuals. By being ready to learn from each other, forgiving and being compassionate we evolve and grow stronger together. Do we do that? Please, let’s take some time in silence to look into us, we may be surprised to know that we abandon so quickly and replace our so-called love with another one to move on to something that helps us tide over the storm easily without any guilt. True love is a beautiful experience that comes with its own imperfection that needs to be handled with compassion and empathy. True love is not abandoning and replacing, it is staying together.

 There are many soulful moments in this film like the bonding of  Louis and Addie with Jamie, the healing that happens between Addie and Gene, the heart to heart sharing of  Addie and Louis and how they both heal each other and blossom as two beautiful flowers in the garden of love and friendship, the talk between Louis daughter holy and how she understands and regards her father’s latest adventure in his life by forgiving his past, how Louis wish Holy a beautiful trip to find her soul mate. and finally how the Electric Train Kit arrives at Addie’s doorstep with a hidden gift in it to Addie that transforms and elevates their love to heavenly bliss. There are so many moments to mention that makes this movie a must-watch.

Finally, what are the key takeaways in this film - that impermanence is the rule of the universe and true love survives all seasons by understanding, forgiving, accommodating, adopting, adapting and evolving continually. Though things may not be the same, you may not be able to be together for a while, things will change again but then what we need to remember is we need to continue communicating with each other lovingly forever and this is what Louis does when he sends her a gift. And then when they talk he asks her –“What do you want to talk about? Addie excited like a teenager responds lovingly on phone - Oh God, anything and everything.

And after watching this film, I am also waiting to hear from my true love telling me – “Oh God, anything and everything”! And also telling me I am a good man and it’s ok to be not great and imperfect.

Watch this gem on Netflix right now.

Pen Movie Rating: 4.5/5

Cast: Robert Redford as Louis Waters, Jane Fonda as Addie Moore, Matthias Schoenaerts  as Gene, Iain Armitage as Jamie, Judy Greer as Holy, Phyllis Somerville as Ruth, Bruce Dern as Dorlan 

Genre: Love

Director: Ritesh Batra

Screenplay: Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber

Producers: Robert Redford, Finola Dwyer, Ted Sarandos, Erin Simms

Executive Producers: Pauline Fischer, Sarah Bremner, Ben Ormand

Director of Photography: Stephen Goldblatt

Production Designer: Jene Ann Stewart

Based upon the novel by Kent Haruf

Edited by: John F. Lyons

Music by: Elliot Goldenthal

Language: English

OTT Platform: Netflix