Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess

I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

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.

This movie just seemed to have no point. We're introduced to all these side characters and learn a little about their backstory, but at the end it doesn't resolve anything. Jane Fonda just moves away. We never find out what happened to the daughter who went to Europe. The relationship between Fonda's character and her son is never fixed. This movie was just a waste of time

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.

'OUR SOULS AT NIGHT': Three Stars (Out of Five)The new drama marking Robert Redford and Jane Fonda's fourth film collaboration together. In the movie they play a widower and widow, that have lived next to each other for years, but have had very little contact with each other. Then they decide to form a strong platonic relationship, in the later years of their lives. It was directed by Ritesh Batra (who also helmed the 2013 critical darling 'THE LUNCHBOX'), and it was written by Kent Haruf, Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (Neustadter and Weber also previously co-scripted such critically acclaimed hits as '500 DAYS OF SUMMER', 'THE SPECTACULAR NOW', 'THE FAULT IN OUR STARS', 'PAPER TOWNS' & 'THE DISASTER ARTIST'). It's received mostly positive reviews from critics, and it was released by Netflix through their streaming site. I found it to be very mildly enjoyable. Louis Waters (Redford) and Addie Moore (Fonda) are a widower and widow that have lived next to each other for years, but they've never known each other very well. One night Addie shows up at Louis's door and asks him if he'd like to sleep with her, platonically. After giving it some thought, Louis agrees to her proposition, and the two begin sleeping together and just talking, on a regular bases. Other people in town assume it's a sexual relationship though, but the new friends don't care. They're relationship slowly builds into something much more.The movie is really sweet, and somewhat rebellious (towards society norms). It's about two older people that don't care what anyone thinks of them, they're going to do what makes them happy regardless. I really like that about the film, and the two leads are good in their roles. It's really slow-paced though, and it feels pretty uneventful by the movie's end. The setup is good, but there's not much to it after that.