The Land of Steady Habits

Anders Hill, a man in his fifties living in a comfortable suburb of Connecticut, has spent his life accumulating the trappings of respectability: a career, a house, a family. Once he has paid off his son Preston's college tuition and retired, he finds that the routine he built no longer holds him. He leaves his wife Helene, buys a condominium of his own, and sets out to remake himself, hoping to recover a sense of pleasure in his days. The attempt does not go smoothly, and without the structure of his former identity he finds his new freedom strangely empty. His efforts to reconnect with Preston, with his former wife, and with the people around him form the substance of the story.

The film is directed by Nicole Holofcener, who also wrote the screenplay, working from Ted Thompson's novel. It is the sixth feature she directed, following Enough Said (2013) and preceding You Hurt My Feelings (2023). Ben Mendelsohn plays Anders, with Edie Falco as Helene, Thomas Mann as Preston, and Elizabeth Marvel, Connie Britton and Michael Gaston in supporting roles. The production was handled by Likely Story, with Anthony Bregman, Holofcener and Stefanie Azpiazu producing.

On IMDb, the film holds a rating of 6.2 out of 10 from around 9,500 votes, and on TMDB it sits at 5.6 from roughly 195 votes. A critics' rating of 6.8 out of 10 from 41 reviews places it somewhat above the audience scores on both platforms.