Mid-life crisis stories have been done many times in the past, but it’s uncommon to see a story told from a woman. Directed and written by Nicole Holofcener of Enough Said fame, The Land of Steady Habits, now streaming on Netflix, focuses on a recent divorcee named Anders, played by Ben Mendelsohn, who also ends up quitting his finance job for an early retirement. It’s only after this decision that he soon begins to realize his mistakes, as he soon finds his life meaningless and empty, especially since he has estranged himself from his wife and recovering addict son, played by Edie Falco and Thomas Mann respectively.

Through his loneliness, he soon finds himself befriending a drug-ridden teenager named Charlie, played by Charlie Tahan. Through these interactions, as well as Mann’s subplot where he sees himself attempt to sober up, the film really shines. While Holofcener’s direction and dialogue are solid, the real stand-out in The Land of Steady Habits are the characters. What makes Anders work is not just Ben Mendelsohn, who delivers a great performance as a melancholy, meandering figure, it’s how the film doesn’t paint him as someone to be overtly sympathetic towards. Of course the film does make viewers feel sorry for his plight, but the film still calls out Anders and his many actions, giving him a lot of dimension and moral ambiguity that fits for the kind of movie this is.

Thomas Mann and Edie Falco also deliver in creating complex figures through their performances. Admittedly I did want to see more of Falco and her character Helene, but Holofcener still gives her plenty of meat for Falco to chew on as an actress, and Mann’s plot focusing on him sobering up adds plenty of good elements to the film, and often works as a positive antidote to the more bittersweet or depressing main plot Anders goes through.

What Nicole Holofcener has crafted with Steady Habits is a film that offers a melancholy yet engaging look at a middle-aged man re-evaluating his life, with a lot of ambiguity that makes the film interesting and well worth a viewing.