Netflix’s ‘The Land of Steady Habits’ a compelling drama of mid-life crisis

“The Land of Steady Habits.”
Netflix

• Netflix‘s
  new original film, “The Land of Steady Habits,” has earned
  positive reviews from film critics.
• The film stars Ben Mendelsohn as a
  Connecticut father who, in the throes of a mid-life crisis,
  retires from his job in finance and leaves his
  wife. 

Netflix’s new original movie, “The Land of Steady Habits,” earned
positive reviews from film critics ahead of its premiere on the
service Friday.

The film stars Ben Mendelsohn (“Rogue One: A Star Wars
Story”) as Anders Hill, a Connecticut father who, in the throes
of a mid-life crisis, retires from his job in finance and leaves
his wife. 

“The Land of Steady Habits” is based on a 2014 novel of the
same name by Ted Thompson.

Here’s how Netflix described the film in a release:

“Into his mid fifties and newly retired, his grown son’s
college tuitions paid in full, Anders decides he’s had enough of
steady habits: he leaves his wife (Edie Falco), buys a condo, and
waits for freedom to transform him. Stripped of the comforts of
his previous identity, Anders embarks on a clumsy, and
heartbreaking journey to reconcile his past with his
present.”

The film was written and directed by Nicole Holofcener, who also
wrote the screenplay for the acclaimed upcoming movie “Can You
Ever Forgive Me?,” which stars Melissa McCarthy in a true story
of a biographer who sold forged letters from famous authors.
Holofcener’s last directorial effort was the 2013 romantic comedy
“Enough Said,” which starred Julia Louis-Dreyfus and James
Gandolfini.

“The Land of Steady Habits” currently has an 84%
“fresh” rating on the reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, and
most critics had praise for Holofcener’s directing and script.

“Laying it all out with a piercing authenticity, Holofcener
makes us hope that the wait till her next feature is not quite so
long,” Kenneth Turan wrote in
a review for the Los Angeles Times.

“No detail ever seems to go unnoticed in Holofcener’s
world, and viewers could spend the entire running time simply
admiring her powers of surveillance,” Elizabeth
Weitzman wrote in
a review for The Wrap.

Watch a trailer for the film below, and find the feature film on
Netflix: