‘Our Souls at Night’ Movie Review

Movie poster via IMDb.

A friend from my book club alerted me that there was a made-for-Netflix movie version of the book we were reading for discussion, Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf. I had a flight home from Texas after Thanksgiving and my husband and I downloaded it and streamed it for the last part of our flight. It ended up being a relaxing way to end the trip.

Things I Thought Were Awesome

Redford and Fonda. I was told later that Redford approached Fonda about making this movie together, reminiscent of when they did Barefoot in the Park together fifty years earlier. I thought the casting was good and I was glad to see two well-known and respected actors take on the roles.

Addie. I wasn’t a big fan of her in the book but the movie made her very sympathetic. She seemed less pushy on-screen and I enjoyed seeing her vulnerable when the book made her seem unbreakable emotionally.

Changes That Didn’t Really Bother Me

Jamie at Ruth’s funeral. The book made a point of not having Jamie at Ruth’s funeral. This seemed odd to me because he was old enough to understand death and you’d think he’d notice Ruth not being around anymore. I understand they were protecting him for even more loss during a hard part of his life, but I thought it was a bit too much.

Cover image via Goodreads

Things That Were Taken Out and I’m Still Wondering Why

Louis gardening. This is honestly the only thing I can think of that was taken out of the movie. It meant that the mice were out as well but the train replacement was good, in my book. I think the gardening could have been nice visually, though.

Things That Changed Too Much

Gene’s drinking problem. This one made me mad. Yes, Gene was a bad father but taking it to the point that he’s leaving Jamie home alone for hours while he goes out drinking was too much. It made Addie’s motivation to leave Holt strong, but it didn’t make as much sense considering her plotline with Louis. It really got to me.

Gene and Beverly’s relationship. This is really an extension of the one above. With Jamie losing his mother, Addie had very different motivation to want to move in with him. Rather than being injured and almost forced to go, she is 100% making the decision to leave. I felt the whole end of the story was different with these changes.

It was a slow movie, probably not the best for watching on a plane to keep you awake, but also a nice way to wind down at the end of a long vacation. Reader, have you seen the Our Souls at Night movie? What did you think?

Until next time, write on.

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