The Land Of Steady Habits is the story of Anders (Ben Mendelsohn), a man who retires from his finance job and leaves his wife in order to renew his lust for life.

Things don’t quite go as smoothly as hoped for poor Anders. Directed by Nicole Holofcener, this story feels very real and true. It features a fair number of lost and hurt / hurting people trying, as well as others who don’t appear to be trying especially hard. Outside of Anders, whose journey intrigued me, I wanted to know more about why each person was really behaving the way they were but we never get to know about what makes up the other lost and hurting people in Anders’s circle. Certainly not as much as my curious mind desired anyway.

The unexpectedness of the humour in Holfcener’s film, the good performances and the unpredictability of the very human story is why I liked it. In addition to confirming that Mendelsohn’s American accent isn’t bad, The Land Of Steady Habits reminds me of how invaluable good family and friendships are, especially when things don’t quite work out.

Give it a chance if the protagonist’s situation intrigues you. It’s a little bit of a slow burn, just as life can be sometimes, but not slow enough that I wanted to stop before the end.

Happy Film Loving

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