“Our Souls at Night” is a beautiful Netflix Original film based on a novel by Kent Haruf. The story tells the tale of two older single adults living next door to one another in a small town and what happens when one of them (Addie played by Jane Fonda) has had enough loneliness and reaches out to her neighbor Louis (played by Robert Redford).

The book was published in 1984 and Netflix picked it up for production in 2016 when they hired director Reitesh Batra. Either in spite of or perhaps even because of growing up in Mumbai, Batra captures the quiet calm of the early morning hours in sleepy Midwest American town. The film opens to the clattering of an old metal windmill twirling in the wind, shots of a beautiful sunrise over and open field, and imagery familiar to anyone who grew up in small-town America – the water tower, the local bank, a bowling alley, a diner opening up for the day, and a traffic light at an empty intersection switching from red to green and back again. Then we see Louis sitting down by himself for a microwaved breakfast at a table that seats six.The sights are very familiar right down to the style of chairs, the refrigerator, and even flannel shirt donned by Redford. He reads the local paper while listening to local newscasters talk about eating corndogs at a community event. Again, this is all very familiar to anyone who grew up in a small town. Then enters Addie – a kind and hopeful woman, even if a bit unsure of herself.

The pacing of this movie could not be more perfect and the soundtrack compliments the movie beautifully. Throughout the course of the film, we see Louis and Addie transform from near-total strangers into the closest of friends. They share each other’s struggles and celebrate life together. As a single middle-aged woman, there is comfort in see a story about a couple finding love and companionship again in their twilight years. I helps me have hope for myself that it is never to late to find love again.