Our Souls at Night (2017)

The Worst Film Ever

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

I really liked this film. It felt like it was an adult film. No stunts, no special effects. Just a heartwarming story of two lonely people way, way into the last nine holes of their lives.In a small town in Colorado, Addie Moore (Fonda) and Louis Waters (Redford) have been neighbors for decades but don't really know each other. That's why it strikes Louis, a widower, as odd when Addie, a widow, comes over one evening with a matter-of-fact request: "Would you be interested in coming over to my house sometime and sleeping with me?"It's not about sex, Addie adds - "I lost interest in that a long time ago," she says. Rather, it's about companionship, having someone to talk to and "getting through the night." Louis thinks it over and agrees.Their baggage, their apprehension about starting a new relationship and their knowledge that there isn't time to waste are enough, and them overcoming those issues is what propels the story.Mostly, the director Batra lets the well-worked chemistry Redford and Fonda share do the heavy lifting. The stars have made three movies together before this: as an escaped convict and his unfaithful wife in "The Chase" (1966), as an uptight lawyer and his free-spirit bride in "Barefoot in the Park" (1967), and as a broken-down rodeo star and a sassy journalist in "The Electric Horseman" (1979) - and in "Our Souls at Night," they still bring out in each other a warmth and an easygoing manner, as if they've always been and always will be like this.This is an endearing film. Kudos to Fonda, Redford and the other actors, who were uniformly good, and well directed.

I'm not a huge Jane Fonda fan, but this movie was so true to the delicate feel of the novel. Just lovely.

It's the performance of these two fine actors which make this a most worthwhile watch. The plot meanders slowly and somewhat predictably, but enjoyably. But the pastels of performances paint a picture of end of life sumptuousness if not lugubriousness in the end. Fortunatley we are left with hope, perhaps only fleeting.

This movie is a long way from Barefoot in the Park, made in 1967, when Robert Redford and Jane Fonda were both 30. Now 80 they play two ordinary people, Addie and Louis, who live alone in a small town and decide to spend their nights together to ease their loneliness. As Fonda put it, nights are the worst. The two had only known each other as acquaintances. So, when Addie knocks on his door with the proposal that the two sleep together, without sex, Louis is totally confounded but not scandalized. What I found interesting is how these 1960's sex symbols seemed to fit into these roles so naturally. The movie is slow and it takes a while for the two to get into the groove of being sleeping partners; however, it does pick up when Fonda's grandson comes into their lives. These 80 year olds take on all the energy and dedication of first time parents. The townsfolk were standoffish when they first found out about them but Addie was not bothered about gossip. Louis also adjusted to it. So what happens to spoil this bliss? Without giving it away, both Addie and Louis have acquired some baggage with their own grown children. They are able to face their own lives with a certain wisdom and honesty. The fact that these two actors, Fonda and Redford, can come together and star in a movie that breaks stereotypes is a positive note. It is refreshing to see a movie that treats older people as a loving, energetic couple. Thumbs up!