At turns inspiring, challenging, sobering, and finally devastating, The Overnighters is an existentially probing documentary with more layers than a twisty Hollywood thriller. Partly this is due to the compelling subject matter: a Lutheran pastor in a booming North Dakota oil town committed to showing Christian hospitality to an influx of out-of-state laborers, many rough around the edges, and to mediating between them and the tense, sometimes testy local community. Partly it’s a matter of circumstance as the situation spirals in unexpected directions. And partly it’s the sheer filmmaking craft on display, particularly in editing. What starts as a seemingly straightforward celebration of Christian virtue becomes a complex chronicle of a community in conflict before finally revealing itself as an excruciating meditation on the contradictions people live with, on the tension between one’s public and private self, and the extent to which heroic virtue and service can coexist with deep moral compromise. — Steven D. Greydanus (Decent Films Guide)
Arts & Faith Lists:
2014 Arts & Faith Ecumenical Jury — #3
2023 Top 25 Spiritually Significant Documentaries — #12