I suppose the sign of a good documentary is if it can remind me that my own problems are relatively small and I am very lucky. My first documentary breakthrough was Michael Moore’s lesser known The Big One, where college Fred learned unemployment was so bad that some families didn’t have enough money to feed their children, so my college love life woes were nothing. These days my worries are a little more sophisticated, with my own employment, income, mortgage and social issues on the line. Yet I still get to do something I love for a living, and I live in a safe, comfortable place even at my most stressed. The Overnighters reminded me to be grateful as it illustrated a big problem, gave me hope and elicited sympathy for both those less fortunate and those trying to help.
In Williston, ND, people come from all over to try to get work fracking for the oil companies. The problem is, they come in such desperate states that they can’t afford housing in Williston. Pastor Jay Reinke tried to give some of them temporary housing in his church, and a few even in his own home. The numbers quickly became unfeasible and with people sleeping in their cars in parking lots, parking RVs and generally increasing the street population, it became a political problem.
The macro issue here is that Reinke tried to do a good thing. Yet doing good is complicated and has further reaching consequences. People are going to judge these outsiders, right or wrong, and in this case they’re not entirely wrong. Unknown day workers are coming into town and some have criminal pasts. Being a church man, Reinke wants to give everyone a chance for redemption, but when it comes to the unknown, let alone registered sex offenders, the community is understandably concerned.
Director Jesse Moss expertly captures the micro and macro of Reinke’s efforts. On the personal level, he sometimes has to choose one worker over another because there are only so many spaces. He takes a rather larger personal risk inviting sex offenders into his home, though we learn he has done due diligence and his family is on board with the decision. Reinke has to make judgment calls though, and ultimately you can never be 100% sure you’re making the right decision. Often the people he leaves behind prove to be volatile so Reinke may have been correct.
It is pretty spiritual of Reinke to forgive to the extent he does. Without that depth of spiritual motivation, the Williston community obviously takes a hard line about a certain criminal element coming to their town. That is justified too, and they can’t take the time to get to know every sex offender to choose which ones are rehabilitated and which ones may still be dangerous. The information gets out and the local paper comes after Reinke. Whatever you personally believe about Reinke’s motivations and intentions, you can see that there’s no easy way to try to do good. You always have to face the larger society.
I support Reinke’s efforts in a philosophical sense, though I think The Overnighters shows you can sometimes get so carried away in doing good that you create other problems. It’s what we all face in trying to be good people and ultimately making smart decisions for the greater good. I did see a Chik-Fil-A mug on Reinke’s counter though, and being a pastor I’m not surprised he probably supports their restaurant. I too can only fight one fight at a time, so I was on board with his Overnighters program. I’ll deal with Chik-Fil-A’s politics another time.
The city has practical concerns about the utilities the overnighters are consuming, be it RVs stealing electricity or cars filling parking lots overnight. Explaining a human issue to a government committee is so frustrating you have to wonder how anyone can have the patience to keep fighting the good fight.
The Reinkes are completely open with Moss’s camera even in the darkest times and the story comes full circle in a way that’s unprecedented in real life. Fiction could maybe thematically tie together like this, but the fact that this actually happened is profound. I remain grateful that I have a home, job and supportive community. I would like to support and help Reinke’s efforts but even I know I could only maybe go half as far as Reinke does. Good thing he’s there doing what he’s equipped for, and I hope doing my part informing the world about films like this and other documentaries counts for something too.
Fred Topel is a staff writer at CraveOnline and the man behind Best Episode Ever and The Shelf Space Awards. Follow him on Twitter at @FredTopel.
