masonfisk They don't make movies like this anymore. I know I sound like someone's grandparent but this is what this film is; a warm bowl of soup on a snowy day. In their third pairing, I think, (Barefoot in the Park & The Electric Horseman being the first 2) Robert Redford & Jane Fonda could almost be revisiting the same couple during different periods in their lives. Now in their 80's (wow!) they communicate more with the flicker of an eyelid than most actors do w/pages of dialogue. Wonderful from fade in to fade out.

Howard Schumann Not since "The Electric Horseman" in 1979 have we had the distinct pleasure of seeing two outstanding actors, Robert Redford ("Pete's Dragon"), now 81, and Jane Fonda ("Grace and Frankie," TV series), 79, working together in the same film. That situation has now changed with the release of Our Souls at Night, directed by Ritesh Batra whose recent film "The Lunchbox" received much critical acclaim. Adapted by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber from a novel by the late Kent Haruf, Our Souls at Night was shown at the Venice Film Festival then went directly to Netflix, a move that in today's multi-layered media environment is not reflective of the film's quality, but only its box office potential. Set in a fictional small town in Colorado close to the Rocky Mountains, two elderly neighbors, Louis Waters (Redford) and Addie Moore (Fonda) are widows whose days and nights are marked by loneliness. When the taciturn Waters hears a knock on the door and opens it to find a nervous looking Addie whom he barely knows, he knows that something unusual is about to happen. After much hemming and hawing, Addie tells him that that her nights are very long and that she needs companionship, someone to converse with. Louis is surprised to say the least when she blurts out the question, "Would you be interested in coming over and sleeping with me?" Of course, as she explains, she means sleeping as in a "sleep-over" rather than sleeping as in - well - sleeping together. After a few minutes of interminable silence, he tells her that he needs time to think it over as if he is considering buying her wicker chair. After his daily breakfast meeting with a group of fellow members of the "seen better days" club led by Dorlan Becker (Bruce Dern), he calls Addie to tell her that he has decided to come over that evening. Carrying pajamas and toothbrush in a paper bag like a child heading off to school, he stealthily makes his way to the back door and knocks quietly to make sure that no one in the gossipy town will have a subject to discuss. To say that their first night together was awkward is like saying that there are a few mountains in Colorado. With nothing to talk about except the weather (always a scintillating topic of conversation), the new friends quickly turn out their lights and turn over in bed, most likely thinking that maybe this was not such a good idea after all. Things loosen up after a few nights, however, and they begin to share with each other some painful memories about past relationships and how it affected their children. Louis speaks of regrets about how he left his wife and daughter for an affair with a young teacher and the sadness of his wife's last years fighting cancer. Addie reveals that her daughter was killed in an accident and how that changed her relationship with her son Gene (Matthias Schoenaerts, "Red Sparrow"). Since Louis' circle of elderly agitators seem to already know what is going on, the two decide to throw caution to the wind and walk together in town openly, even going to lunch together at a nearby restaurant. Once Gene and Louis' daughter Holly (Judy Greer, "The 15:17 to Paris") become involved, however, the drama intensifies. When Gene tells his mother that his wife has left him, he brings his seven-year-old son, Jamie (Ian Armitage, "The Glass Castle") to her house, asking that she look after him until his wife returns. Noticing that the boy is struggling, Louis takes him to a dog shelter where they pick out a dog that Jamie is attached to. Building a train set together, going to a baseball game, and going on a camping trip cements their relationship, but fate has a way of intervening. Our Souls at Night is not a "chick flick" or a film that only those who are close to the end of life can appreciate. It is not only a perfect vehicle for Redford and Fonda but a film that will strike a responsive chord with anyone regardless of age who is ready to risk discovering what more life has to offer.

latinfineart 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.

csburlap Thank you Mr. Redford for making me remember the wonderful years I spent in my youth in Virginia, back in the early 50's. The people's manners and language, way of living, is always on my mind. Soft-spoken peace-loving Americans is part of my memories of the people I lived with at the time. Undoubtedly they were "The Best Years of my Life". God bless America! Thank you. Conrado