The Land of Steady Habits

The Land of Steady Habits is a 2018 American film written, directed and co-produced by Nicole Holofcener and based on the novel of the same name by Ted Thompson. It had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2018 and was released on September 14, 2018, by Netflix.

The Land of Steady Habits
Film poster
Directed byNicole Holofcener
Produced by
  • Anthony Bregman
  • Stefanie Azpiazu
  • Nicole Holofcener
Written byNicole Holofcener
Based onThe Land of Steady Habits
by Ted Thompson
Starring
Music byMarcelo Zarvos
CinematographyAlar Kivilo
Edited byRobert Frazen
Production
company
Distributed byNetflix
Release date
  • September 12, 2018 (2018-09-12) (TIFF)
  • September 14, 2018 (2018-09-14) (United States)
Running time
98 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Anders Hill has recently divorced his wife Helene and quit his job in finance for an early retirement, and is having a difficult time coping. Anders’ adult son Preston is a recovering drug addict who still lives with Helene in the family home that Anders has left. Preston, who attended Northwestern University, is working as a paid reading specialist alongside his mother who got him the job.

Anders remains enamoured of his ex-wife, despite his string of one night stands since their divorce. He shows up at the annual Christmas party she co-hosts with Sophie Ashford, a neighbor and friend of Helene. Isolated at the party, he goes outside and joins Sophie and Mitchell's son Charlie and some of Charlie's friends. They urge Anders to smoke from a bong, and he is surprised to discover afterwards that the marijuana was laced with PCP. Later at the party, Charlie overdoses and is taken to the hospital. Anders tells his therapist that he smoked drugs with Charlie at the Christmas party, and is caught off guard to learn that his therapist was also in attendance.

Anders, who is still the official owner of the family home he has left to Helene and therefore responsible for the mortgage, has fallen six months behind on payments and realizes that he cannot afford to retire as well as pay off the house. He approaches a friend for a loan; however, the friend instead takes Anders to a strip club where he meets Barbara, a woman who is on a date. Anders and Barbara hit it off and end up sharing a cab home, and in his drunken stupor, Anders gives his old address and enters his old house with the key he still has, upsetting Helene, Preston, and Helene's boyfriend Donny. Helene is eventually forced to fire Preston after he accepts $2,000 dollars from an illiterate man and uses the money to play in a poker game. Preston also reveals to Helene that Anders cannot pay off the mortgage of the home they used to share.

Days later, Preston stops by Anders' condo to reveal he has a job delivering alcohol but is homeless, having been kicked out of the family home by Helene. However, Anders tells him he cannot stay the night and urges him to grow up. That night, Charlie visits Anders and tells him he has broken out of the hospital as his parents want him to go to rehab and he needs to run away but wants Anders to look after his pet turtle. Anders initially threatens to call Charlie's parents, but the two instead go to Charlie's boat which he refers to as his clubhouse. In the boat, Charlie and Anders do drugs while Charlie tells Anders about his graphic novel based on Laika, a Soviet space dog. Anders eventually decides to drive Charlie home, but Charlie escapes from the boat while Anders waits outside for him.

Preston delivers wine to a former classmate who has just purchased a large home and expecting a child. After Preston insults him, he leaves the house and finds that his car has broken down. Unable to finish the rest of his deliveries, he calls a tow truck that drops him off near some train tracks. Preston contemplates drinking a large bottle of champagne to keep himself warm, but instead places it in front of an oncoming train to prevent himself from doing so. On the way back to his Jeep, Preston discovers Charlie's corpse behind a tree.

Charlie's death causes Preston to be welcomed back into the family home by Helene. On Christmas Eve, when the Hills and Ashfords traditionally celebrate dinner together, Preston finds his Dad in a hotel room and convinces him to stop by for dinner. Over dinner, Anders reveals that he and Charlie had done drugs together. This revelation leads to Sophie telling Anders that Helene had been cheating on him for two years. Mitchell then attacks Anders and stubs out his cigar in the middle of Anders' forehead.

A few months later, Helene has sold her old home while she and Donny plan their wedding in Hawaii. Preston has decided to attend graduate school in New York City and gets his own apartment. Anders continues to date Barbara, is settling into retired life, and is looking after Charlie's turtle.

Cast

Production

On August 20, 2014, it was reported that Nicole Holofcener would write and direct an adaptation of Ted Thompson's novel The Land of Steady Habits for Fox Searchlight.[2] In January 2017, Ben Mendelsohn, Edie Falco, and Thomas Mann were set to star in the film, which, it was revealed, was to be financed and distributed by Netflix.[3] In February 2017, Connie Britton joined the cast.[4] In March 2017, Elizabeth Marvel joined the cast.[5]

By March 17, 2017, The Land of Steady Habits had begun filming in Tarrytown.[6]

Release

The Land of Steady Habits had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2018.[7] It was released exclusively to Netflix on September 14, 2018.[8]

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 85% based on 39 reviews, with an average rating of 6.84/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "With typically sharp work from writer-director Nicole Holofcener and finely layered performances, The Land of Steady Habits is one mid-life crisis worth watching."[9] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 71 out 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[10]

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References
  1. "The Land of Steady Habits". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  2. Chitwood, Adam (August 20, 2014). "Nicole Holofcener to Write and Direct THE LAND OF STEADY HABITS". Collider. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  3. Lodderhose, Diana (January 19, 2017). "Ben Mendelsohn, Edie Falco & Thomas Mann Head To Nicole Holofcener's 'The Land Of Steady Habits' For Netflix, Likely Story". Deadline. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  4. McNary, Dave (February 24, 2017). "Connie Britton Lands First Post-'Nashville' Role in Netflix's 'Land of Steady Habits'". Variety. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  5. McNary, Dave (March 20, 2017). "'Homeland's' Elizabeth Marvel Joins Connie Britton in Nicole Holofcener's Netflix Film (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  6. "Netflix filming in White Plains, Nyack and Tarrytown". lohud.com. March 17, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  7. Vlessing, Etan (July 24, 2018). "Toronto: Timothee Chalamet Starrer 'Beautiful Boy,' Dan Fogelman's 'Life Itself' Among Festival Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  8. Walsh, Savana. "11 Original Netflix Movies Out Fall 2018 That Will Make For A Perfect Autumn Marathon". Bustle. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  9. "The Land of Steady Habits (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  10. "The Land of Steady Habits (2018)". Metacritic.com. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
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