Review: The Land of Steady Habits

In The Land of Steady Things, the sixth feature in 22 years from director Nicole Holofcener, a man discovers that the grass isn't always greener on the other side and that freedom comes with its own set of burdens.

The great Ben Mendelsohn plays against type as Anders Hill, who has recently shed the shackles of both his job in finance and his marriage to Helene (Edie Falco) in the hopes of living a more meaningful life. Unfortunately, starting over isn't quite what he expected. Life seems to be constructed around finding things to decorate his sparsely furnished condo, having unenjoyable sex with seemingly every woman that crosses his path, and staving off loneliness and regret. As he comes to realise, "My life was like a web. The more webs you had coming from you, then the more important you were. But if you vanish, then the people who were in your life, they learn to rely on someone else, and then the web just remakes itself and moves on without you."

Anders isn't the only lost boy in The Land of Steady Things, the title of which refers to the moniker once coined for the state of Connecticut. There's his 27-year-old son Preston (Thomas Mann), fresh out of rehab and currently living in the family home that Anders abandoned and whose mortgage, he reveals to his son, he can no longer afford to pay. There's also Charlie (Charlie Tahan), the wayward son of Sophie and Mitchell Ashford (Elizabeth Marvel and Michael Gaston), the Hills' longtime family friends, and with whom Anders finds an unexpected kinship. Whilst Helene has moved on with Donny (Bill Camp) who, much to Anders' chagrin, has taken up residence in his former home, Anders is feeling highly unmoored, though there may be some potential with Barbara (Connie Britton), whom he meets in the bathroom of a strip club.

Adapted by Holofcener from Ted Thompson's 2014 novel, the film is episodic in nature which allows for the kind of observational insights and well-drawn, multi-layered characterisations that define Holofcener's work. Yet there's something not quite there with The Land of Steady Habits, which delves into the oft-explored subject of suburban malaise and finds nothing particularly new to say about it. Whether this is due to adapting a story other than one she originated or having a tale centred around a male protagonist for the first time is unclear, but the film, much like Anders, is mostly walking in place. Though Holofcener slightly fumbles with the material, she remains solid when it comes to drawing exceptional performances from a murderers' row of character actors.

The Land of Steady Habits

Directed by: Nicole Holofcener

Written by: Nicole Holofcener; based on the novel by Ted Thompson

Starring: Ben Mendelsohn, Edie Falco, Thomas Mann, Connie Britton, Charlie Tahan, Bill Camp, Elizabeth Marvel, Josh Pais