The Overnighters (2014)
92%RT Audience Score: 85%
Awards & Nominations: 10 wins & 19 nominations
Hard-hitting, absorbing, and painfully relevant, The Overnighters offers an urgent and compassionate picture of life in 21st century America.
The Overnighters is a documentary that will make you question everything you thought you knew about altruism and the human condition. It’s like a rollercoaster ride of emotions, taking you from inspiration to devastation in just 90 minutes. But don’t worry, you won’t need a box of tissues for this one – just a strong drink to help you process all the twists and turns. Moss does an incredible job of letting the story unfold naturally, without forcing any narrative on it. And the visuals? Let’s just say that drill towers and blistering flames have never looked so metaphorical. Overall, The Overnighters is a total corker of a film that will leave you thinking long after the credits roll.
Production Company(ies)
Newmarket Capital Group Team Todd I Remember Productions,
Distributor
Drafthouse Films
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material and brief strong language
Year of Release
2014
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:1h 41m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 10, 2014 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 7, 2015
Genre(s)
Documentary/Drama
Keyword(s)
documentary, drama, North Dakota, homeless workers, oil fields, pastor, controversy, church, PG-13, mature thematic material, brief strong language, Jesse Moss, directed by Jesse Moss, written by Jesse Moss, produced by Jesse Moss, Amanda McBaine, box office, gross USA, $109.6K, reviewed by Steven D Greydanus, Tom Long, Eric Kohn, Brian Tallerico, Nigel Andrews, Lisa Kennedy, Q.V Hough, David Harris, Ryan Syrek, C.J Prince, D.W Mault, Stephen Saito, Jay Reinke, Andrea Reinke, Alan Mezo, Shelly Schultz, Keegan Edwards, Michael Batten, starring Jay Reinke, Andrea Reinke, Alan Mezo, Shelly Schultz, Keegan Edwards, Michael Batten
Worldwide gross: $110,763
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $138,426
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,986
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 15,096
US/Canada gross: $110,763
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $138,426
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,608
US/Canada opening weekend: $4,324
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $5,404
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,794
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Andrea Reinke – self
Alan Mezo – self
Shelly Schultz – self
Keegan Edwards – self
Michael Batten – self
Jesse Moss – director, producer, writer
Amanda McBaine – producer
Director(s)
Jesse Moss
Writer(s)
Jesse Moss
Producer(s)
Jesse Moss, Amanda McBaine
Film Festivals
Sundance, Tribeca
Awards & Nominations
10 wins & 19 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (74) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (72) | Rotten (2)
An existentially probing documentary with more layers than a twisty Hollywood thriller, at turns inspiring, challenging, sobering and finally devastating.
February 25, 2015 | Rating: A
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films
TOP CRITIC
It develops into a study of obsession, hypocrisy, righteousness and self-doubt, questioning motive and then gob-smacking the audience with the wholly unexpected.
January 5, 2015 | Rating: B
Tom Long
Detroit News
TOP CRITIC
While initially a gentle interrogation of Christian dogma, The Overnighters expands to a larger investigation of altruism and its roots in private psychologies.
January 5, 2015 | Rating: A
Eric Kohn
indieWire
TOP CRITIC
Moss lets his characters and their stories unfold, crafting a film from them intuitively through the right interview questions and the art of editing, but never placing a narrative on it that feels forced.
January 5, 2015 | Rating: 4.5/5
Brian Tallerico
Film Threat
TOP CRITIC
Full of ambush, surprise, illumination, it’s a total corker. And Moss and his camera, somehow, are there every time a new bottle of truth is opened, with a gush, a pop or an explosion.
January 5, 2015 | Rating: 5/5
Nigel Andrews
Financial Times
TOP CRITIC
Moss uses images of drill towers or blistering flame as visual metaphors for other things transpiring on screen: the fracturing of a family, the heated fury that comes with a sense of betrayal.
December 19, 2014
Lisa Kennedy
Denver Post
TOP CRITIC
“Moss highlights the personal struggles of many who find themselves re-awakened in northwestern North Dakota, and others who simply fade in and fade out.”
June 28, 2022
Q.V. Hough
Vague Visages
Although The Overnighters runs only 90 minutes, it feels much longer than that.
November 27, 2019 | Rating: 2.8/5
David Harris
Spectrum Culture
The big takeaway for me was how brutal the burden is for those who truly embrace the core conceits of the Christian faith and its insistence upon caring for any and all who need help, no matter the sins of their past.
August 6, 2019 | Rating: A-
Ryan Syrek
The Reader (Omaha, NE)
The fact that something so inherently dramatic comes from the world of non-fiction makes this feel like a truly rare sight.
June 12, 2019 | Rating: 8.4/10
C.J. Prince
Way Too Indie
A film that sheds layers like a rotting onion, this is cinema that forces a narrative that is constant.
April 3, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
D.W. Mault
CineVue
Moss goes where the story takes him as Reinke’s altruism increasingly appears to be an exercise in futility, chasing lost causes and threatening to become one himself.
November 22, 2018
Stephen Saito
Moveable Fest…
Plot
Broken, desperate men chase their dreams and run from their demons in the North Dakota oil fields. A local Pastor risks everything to help them.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The Overnighters features real people, including pastor Jay Reinke and various homeless workers seeking jobs in North Dakota’s oil fields.
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