The Overnighters
2014 had no shortage of superb non-fiction films. The Overnighters, which made it onto the Academy’s documentary feature shortlist, is the finest of them all. It is also the best movie about faith in a year filled with sanctimonious titles that had religious themes.
The title refers to a group of stragglers from around the United States who found a home on the beds, floors and the parking lot of a Lutheran church in Williston, North Dakota. They came to the boom town with the hopes of working on a new oil rig; however, even as the jobs fill up, some choose to stick around. The church’s pastor, Jay Reinke, decides to welcome these strangers into a makeshift shelter – even though some of these men are ex-convicts.
Director Jesse Moss could have focused primarily on the men looking for a second chance. However, he stumbles upon a more compelling protagonist: pastor Reinke. He is trying his hardest to help out the needy, although the community swiftly berate him for bringing in men who could be armed and dangerous. He comes under fire by several irate neighbors, which puts his humanist program in question.
Moss, who actually lived as an “overnighter” in Reinke’s church, gets an enthralling close-up of a man trying his hardest to fix broken souls. Meanwhile, the film becomes even more devastating when Reinke touches on the brokenness within him. Deeply sensitive and powerful, this is one of the most exceptional movies ever made about a man wrestling with his faith.