Our Souls at Night (2017) Reviews

• beautiful

  zazigna992017-09-30

  Don't agree with the 1-star reviewer. It's a beautiful film, with 2 great actors acting their AGE. No doddering, just honest raw emotion. The initial premise seemed odd, but after getting caught up in the storyline-I loved it! It's just a simple beautiful story. Like real life, no "hollywood" ending. Just real life.

• A Very Sweet Little Movie, Which I Enjoyed

  joaniewolf2017-09-29

  I very much enjoyed this unusual movie depicting the lives of two people in their older, and in this case, more lonesome years. Both Fonda and Redford gave nuanced performances which were very relatable, especially if you are over the age of 60. I doubt that very young adults would find much to enjoy about this picture, and that is a shame because in fact it displays well the one thing which people cannot lose if they are to continue enjoying their lives into their last decades, and that is hope. So often younger people do not appreciate the wisdom and humanity which both come with age. Nor do they realize that if they are lucky, they, too, will be old one day. If you want a sweet look into lives of the older but certainly not dead yet, this would be a good place to do so.

• One for the oldies

  KathleenK222017-09-29

  Jane Fonda and Robert Redford both aged 80 in a 2017 movie, what a treat! The acting is superb as you would expect. To find love again at this age is the dream of many elderly widows and widowers. Life is still complicated even at this age and both have family to consider. It is not fast paced with a lot of action but it is a good script for these two actors in their twilight years. The atmosphere created by their very presence and experience is beautiful. They are a joy to watch. This movie may be wasted on some young viewers but there will be some who can appreciate perfection when they see it. For older people who know these two from previous movies just sit back and know we are lucky to have this movie from them. It is probably worth more than 8 but the lack of action and intrigue makes it a bit tame for some viewers. The acting is worth 10 though!

• Barefoot in the Park (1967) a Half Century Later

  A_Different_Drummer2017-10-01

  Some have said that Napoleon would have been nothing without Waterloo. The subtext of this movie may well be that the Baby Boomers, once the top demographic on the planet, having failed to improve the political system or the economic system, or to manifest especially noteworthy parenting skills -- in fact, having failed to improve the planet in any detectable way -- may best be remembered for simply getting old. If that theorem is to be proved anywhere, it would be in this wonderful movie. This may be a shock to the younger IMDb members, but at one time Redford and Fonda were not merely the biggest stars in Hollywood but also the biggest sex symbols in the biz. If in 1967 -- please put on your time travel, butterfly effect, hats here -- you had suggested to these two that a full half-century later they would star is a laid-back but irrefutably charming rom-com where, in the very first scene, Fonda shows up at Redford's door and politely asks if he would mind sleeping with her ... well, let's just say that a raised eyebrow would be least you could expect in return The script is so subtle (a word I have astonishingly used only a very few times in some 1350+ reviews here) that the viewer does not know whether to laugh or cry. Even the way Redford's character chooses to initially respond to the invitation -- not by a 411.com search, but by looking up Fonda's phone number in a handwritten address book his late wife had left behind -- brings an unavoidable smile to those who grasp the passage of time. The dialog is a joy. It has ebbs and flows, ups and downs, and most importantly never quite heads in the direction you expect it to. In fact -- this for film historians only -- it may be a true breakthrough in concept. Remember that in the 1970s scriptwriters tried to "take the rom-com up a notch" by deliberately cutting out the "boy meets girl" portion of the traditional formula. Dozens of rom-coms since that era have started with the very first scene taking place "the morning after," leaving the audience to wonder how the original romance blossomed, before getting caught up in the subsequent events. In that context, the premise here, if this film resonates with people in the months and years to come, could become a milestone in rom-coms. And deservedly so. Recommended? Absolutely.

• A good movie

  jacque-706992017-09-29

  I enjoyed everything about the movie. Music, faces, ages and nuances. This might be for people of a certain age but it is a gentle and kind story with a lot of beauty. I am sorry for those who cannot appreciate these things. And I am a Colorado traveler so I appreciated the scenery as well. I have a deep respect for both Robert Redford and Jane Fonda. Both are richly talented actors. This movie resonates with the understanding of deep friendship and that is something that will never get old... I wish there were more movies like this to watch.