The Land of Steady Habits

Released Sep 14, 2018

1 hr. 38 min.

Comedy

Drama

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List

83%

42 Reviews

Tomatometer

48%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

Feeling trapped in the stifling, wealthy enclave of Westport, Conn., a man retires from his job in finance and leaves his wife in the hopes that it will renew his lust for life. He befriends a drug-addicted teen, sending him down a path of reckless, regrettable behavior. His shameful actions cause him to question who he is as a father and, ultimately, who he is as a person.

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Critics Consensus

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.

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Gary K

Relentlessly bleak. Not really poignant and the characters don't show much growth or find a path forward in life.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/03/24

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Alec B

One of the better movies about suburban ennui. Holofcener understands that each character's unhappiness is deeper than mere dissatisfaction.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/05/24

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Katie L

I just rewatched this movie. Love the subtle humor. The midlife crisis is relatable.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/24/23

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Julia R

Great realistic film about, in my opinion, how difficult it is to stay alive within.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/09/23

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Mike F

I stumbled across this movie last weekend and it literally made my day. Great humor but it also gets into some serious issues and almost brings you to tears before you are laughing again.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/13/23

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Alice B

A mediocre and derivative dark comedy (without the comedy): Its a story we have seen a thousand times before and we are all bored of. 1 hour and 38 minutes of over privileged people complaining and looking wistful about how trapped they feel in their huge houses, and by their non-existent financial problems. I give it one star for some excellent acting, and I will watch anything with the amazing Edie Falco in it, but even she can't salvage a plot from this tedious script. Anders, our incredibly obnoxious and suffocatingly boring protagonist, has left his wife and escaped the rat race by retiring early from a career in finance. He occasionally makes reference to having financial problems himself but still spends his days wandering about buying crap, shagging anyone who isn't disgusted by his peter pan complex, and generally being a waste of space. His financial concerns must be pretty dire because towards the end of the movie he decides to go and stay in hotel for a few weeks, leaving his condo empty, because he needs some space. This movie also fails the Bechdel test. The very first conversation that takes place in this movie between two female characters is about Anders. Helene (his ex-wife) is complaining about him, and her friend Sophie interjects that she must be having sex because she looks pretty. Seriously. I'll just remind you at this point that this is a dramedy from 2018 and not a romcom from 1998. The only slightly interesting bit of storyline comes when Anders has a hand in the death of Charlie, a troubled, drug addicted teenager, who he could have helped but didn't. Charlie is the only character in the movie that is actually interesting but he is never really given a chance to be a fully rounded character and is really only there as a plot device. In the last scene of the movie Anders is sitting down for dinner with a woman, whom he had been incredibly mean to earlier in the movie, yet for some inexplicable reason she didn't run a mile. He smiles across the table at the pet turtle that Charlie had given to him for safe keeping, and the message we are supposed to get is what? He is a good guy, he is going to change, he has learnt something. There is no evidence for any of that and quite frankly who cares ........

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

08/07/23

Full Review

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Nicole Holofcener

Director

Ben Mendelsohn

Anders Hill

Edie Falco

Helene

Thomas Mann

Preston

Charlie Tahan

Charlie

Connie Britton

Barbara

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David Stratton

The Australian

The film is smart, intelligent and one of the best from this always interesting director.

Mar 28, 2020

Full Review

Pamela Hutchinson

Sight & Sound

It's Holofcener's first film for Netflix, which may be ruthlessly fitting given its attack on staid domestic archetypes and middle-class mores.

Jan 2, 2019

Full Review

David Edelstein

New York Magazine/Vulture

A great actor when his motor is running fast, Mendelsohn is surprisingly attractive at slower speeds and better when Holofcener makes him twist.

Sep 18, 2018

Full Review

Daniel Howat

Next Best Picture

This makes for a sad but effective film, with unfortunate characters who want to be whole again but have no clue how to get there.

Rated: 7/10

May 19, 2022

Full Review

Matthew St. Clair

Cinema Sentries

Thanks to its humanistic acting and carefully constructed writing, The Land Of Steady Habits is a poignant depiction of a man trying to find a new lease.

Oct 5, 2020

Full Review

Matt Cipolla

Film Monthly

[A]side from its technical fluency and a typically effortless performance from Ben Mendelsohn, this self-pity party feels a decade too late.

Rated: 3/5

Jul 25, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

Feeling trapped in the stifling, wealthy enclave of Westport, Conn., a man retires from his job in finance and leaves his wife in the hopes that it will renew his lust for life. He befriends a drug-addicted teen, sending him down a path of reckless, regrettable behavior. His shameful actions cause him to question who he is as a father and, ultimately, who he is as a person.

Director: Nicole Holofcener
Executive Producer: Jennifer Roth
Screenwriter: Nicole Holofcener
Distributor: Netflix
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 14, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 14, 2018

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