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10/12/2017 12:01 AMNew to Netflix is the romantic drama, Our Souls at Night, which stars two of Hollywood’s most beloved and well respected actors. Robert Redford (All is Lost and Captain America: The Winter Soldier) and Jane Fonda (Monster-In-Law and TV’s Grace and Frankie) star as two widowed neighbors who begin an unexpected relationship. Fifty years ago, Redford and Fonda famously appeared on-screen together in Barefoot in the Park and similarly appeared together in three other feature films. Now that they’re each right around the age of 80 years old, the two prove they still have the chops to headline a film, and not just any film, but one with a lot of heart and substance.
Based on a novel written by Kent Haruf and directed by Ritesh Batra (The Lunchbox and The Sense of an Ending), Our Souls at Night is set in a picturesque Colorado town where neighbors Louis and Addie have lived nearby one another all of their adult lives. Throughout the years, their paths crossed here and there, but they never had a relationship of any kind.
After much consideration, Addie stops by Louis’s house one night to offer him a proposal: Would he be interested in sleeping next to her each night to help ease their loneliness? Despite Addie’s immediate clarification that she is looking only for a platonic sleepover to help comfort her into getting a good night’s rest, Louis is reluctant to agree to the unexpected proposition. After some consideration, however, Louis phones Addie and the next night shows up at her back door with his pajamas and toothbrush in a brown grocery bag.
After several nights of some small talk followed by a good night’s sleep for each of them, Louis and Addie slowly begin to develop a true friendship. They each discover that they enjoy one another’s company and even begin to share some meals together. Of course, living in a small town, folks start gossiping, but Addie is undeterred and convinces Louis to be, as well.
Louis divulges the story of his biggest regret—carrying on an affair with a coworker and briefly leaving his wife and young daughter many years ago. Addie shares her life’s greatest sorrow—the sorrow and guilt she feels after the long-ago death of her young daughter. Louis and Addie find comfort in one another and soon their friendship begins to naturally evolve into something more.
Just as their feelings are evolving, Addie’s grown son Gene (Matthias Schoenaerts of The Drop and Bullhead) shows up with his young son Jaimie (Iain Armitage of The Glass Castle and TV’s Young Sheldon) in tow. Reeling from some setbacks in his own life, Gene leaves Jaimie with Addie for the summer. Louis bonds instantly with the boy and their friendship only deepens Addie’s growing affection for Louis.
Our Souls at Night is an unexpectedly refreshing film. It is incredibly rare to find a film that focuses on the lives of septuagenarians and beyond. Plus, the film is slow paced, but it is far from boring. Instead it represents its lead characters in a very dignified and thoughtful manner.
Also New in October
October will usher in several new releases to Netflix. The most highly anticipated of these is the second season of Stranger Things, which begins streaming Friday, Oct. 27. The hit paranormal series set in the 1980s that debuted in the fall of 2016, has a massive following of fans that have been eagerly awaiting the second season.
There are also several Netflix original films and documentaries that will begin streaming during the month of October. 1922 is based on a Stephen King novella that highlights a farmer’s desperation. One of Us is a documentary that highlights the struggle of three people attempting to break away from their lives in New York’s Hasidic community. Wheelman stars Frank Grillo (Warrior and The Grey) as a double-crossed getaway driver for a bank heist.
Amazon will begin streaming several new original documentaries and series during October, as well as some highly anticipated theatrical releases before they can be viewed elsewhere. The list includes family films The Emoji Movie and Cars 3 (on Tuesday, Oct. 24).
Hulu’s original programming debuts during the month of October include comedienne Sarah Silverman’s first talk show I Love You, America, which began streaming on Thursday, Oct. 12, and Too Funny to Fail, a documentary about the short-lived Dana Carvey comedy sketch show, on Saturday, Oct. 21.