A pastor sparks a controversy in his North Dakota town by allowing down-and-out workers who are desperately seeking jobs at nearby oil fields a place to sleep at the church.
Moss uses images of drill towers or blistering flame as visual metaphors for other things transpiring on screen: the fracturing of a family, the heated fury that comes with a sense of betrayal.
Laramie Movie Scope
January 19, 2015
This story, touching many social issues, is told on a very personal level. There is an extraordinary revelation near the end of the film. It is as if it was written by a great screenwriter, but instead, it is real life. Amazing.
While initially a gentle interrogation of Christian dogma, The Overnighters expands to a larger investigation of altruism and its roots in private psychologies.
Has been described as a 21st-century 'The Grapes of Wrath,' but its plot twists are of the type that might have caused Tom Joad to hightail it back to Oklahoma.
The movie might seem like just another liberal do-gooder profile, yet a shocker ending throws new and disturbing light on the situation, amplifying the Christian themes at the heart of the story.
An existentially probing documentary with more layers than a twisty Hollywood thriller, at turns inspiring, challenging, sobering and finally devastating.
"The Overnighters" is commendable for many reasons, not the least of which is the way it allows complex issues to remain complex. There is a clear conflict between the pastor and the town, but there's no good vs. evil.
One of the most potent examples of cinéma vérité to arrive in recent years, Jesse Moss's "The Overnighters" transcends the genre with a multifaceted examination of complex social issues facing the town of Williston, North Dakota.
It develops into a study of obsession, hypocrisy, righteousness and self-doubt, questioning motive and then gob-smacking the audience with the wholly unexpected.
