‘The Overnighters’ examines a town – Williston, N.D. that became a magnet for the jobless

Director Jesse Moss’s documentary, which is filmed in oil boom town Williston, N.D., is the story of the limits of religious faith in an oil boom town increasingly inhospitable to the hordes of hopefuls looking for their shot at the American dream.

Jesse Moss’s documentary "The Overnighters" is being hailed as a modern-day "Grapes of Wrath," which, up to a point, it is. But it’s far more complicated than that. What starts out as a film about job seekers in the thick of the recession becomes a movie about the limits of religious faith in an oil boom town increasingly inhospitable to the hordes of hopefuls looking for their shot at the American dream.

By Peter Rainer

Full Story: http://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/print/The-Culture/Movies/2014/1031/The-Overnighters-examines-a-town-that-became-a-magnet-for-the-jobless

Many thanks to David Nelson for sharing.