ZedBlog

That sense of an America where hard times have come to roost is ever-present in “The Overnighters,” and it reveals the dark flipside to the news reports of boom times on the plains of North Dakota. And, of course, the migration this boom occasioned is nothing new: in a sense, the tale the film tells is the same that brought generations of immigrants through Ellis Island and across the continent during the Gold Rush and Great Depression.

All of those earlier episodes upset established communities while causing the creation of ad hoc new ones, and that’s what happens here. The people of Williston and the members of Reinke’s congregation generally seem to want to do the right thing, but the influx of strangers disrupts a once comfortable way of life, and soon there are efforts to roll back or reverse the kind of hospitality Reinke advocates.

Likewise, there are tensions within the ad hoc community at the church. Though Reinke seems to be the most sincere and dedicated of pastors, his intensity–and perhaps something beneath it–rub some the wrong way. In particular, there are two men who become close to him–one serves as his deputy, the other lives briefly at his house–and end up seeing him as an enemy and denouncing him bitterly.

One small flaw in the film is that not enough is shown of these men’s previous interactions with Reinke for us to understand the reasons for their antipathy. Yet the consequences are severe: One man tells the local paper that some of the Overnighters are registered sex offenders, and Reinke allowed one to stay at his house, even though he has three teenage daughters and a son. (The offender in question, it should be noted, reportedly earned his status by sleeping with his 16-year-old girlfriend when he was 18, and Reinke had the support of his remarkable wife and kids in this decision as in his work with the Overnighters generally.)

In one striking scene, a newspaper reporter chases Reinke down a street bombarding him with questions about the sex offenders, and the running, upset pastor can’t bring himself to say anything. Later, though, he says this could be the end of his ministry. It’s not, but the specter of sexual predation is one factor that undermines the foundation of the Overnighters program. This scene also foreshadows the film’s amazing ending.

While “The Overnighters” has the feel of an epic, given what an expansive slice of America’s current economic experience it ponders, it’s also a very intimate one. Moss stayed with the Overnighters himself (partly because he couldn’t afford Williston’s inflated hotel prices) and was granted an extraordinary degree of access to the Reinke family. This makes for a film as rich emotionally as it is enlightening regarding the challenges facing people struggling to make a living.

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