HBO's Our Towns Documentary Examines American Struggle and Spirit
James and Deborah Fallows' 2018 book adapted for the screen by Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan
by Ben Speggen
HBO
Like the book upon which it is based, "Our Towns," the new HBO documentary from Academy Award-nominated filmmakers Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan is uplifting without being pollyannish. The feature film captures the triumphs and trials of present-day America through the lenses of eight towns to reveal that the sum of our country's parts – when examined individually at their local levels – paints a brighter picture than what many may consider the narrative of the nation to be: Darker and more divisive than in modern-day memory. That film, based on the 2018 national bestseller of the same name by veteran writers and reporters James Fallows and Deborah Fallows, debuts on HBO at 9 p.m. Tuesday, April 13 and becomes available to stream on-demand afterward.