The Overnighters

A North Dakota oil boom enticed unemployed men from across the country to head for the Peace Garden state, leading to population explosion in towns like Williston, which went from under 15,000 to nearly 21,000 people in a mere three years. Accommodations became scarce (many newcomers couldn't afford them anyway), which led Williston's Pastor Jay Reinke of the Concordia Lutheran Church to open his building to some homeless men, and allow others to sleep in cars and RVs in the parking lot. Reinke is the focus of Jesse Moss's extraordinarily moving and powerful documentary—the story of a man who considers it his moral duty to help the needy men at his church's doorstep. But as The Overnighters—shot in 2012-13—shows, Reinke's sentiments were not shared by many locals, causing tension with parishioners and neighbors, which in turn led the town government and local newspaper to investigate the matter with a critical eye. Complicating matters is the fact that many of the overnighters had serious problems in their past and when confronted could quickly turn on their host, who had his own shortcomings to contend with, along with a secret that eventually threatened both his family and career. Moss's film powerfully captures the desperation felt by both the victims of the country's economic woes and by those who try—not always effectually—to offer them assistance. More importantly, the documentary humanizes issues often presented as abstract statistics. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (F. Swietek)