The Overnighters (2014)

By Dan Clendenin

           This documentary film shows what happened in Williston, North Dakota, when hydraulic fracking and the oil industry created a boom-bust economy. Rents quadrupled when people from all over the country inundated the town looking for work. Homelessness and unemployment became huge problems. Pastor Jay Reinke of Concordia Lutheran Church opened the doors of his church to these people. They slept in Sunday School rooms, the church library, the sanctuary, the hallways, the church parking lot, and even in Reinke's home. In two years they served over a thousand people. Disgruntled congregants left the church. The city council got involved. The locals resented the out-of-towners. His family suffered. In the end, a disparity between Reinke's public persona and private identity made things even worse. This is a complicated story about complex social problems and the people who try to solve them.