Jane Curtin (from left), Harriet Sansom Harris and Ben Kingsley appear in a scene from “Jules.”

There probably won’t be many 2023 movies more low key and understated than “Jules.”

There probably won’t be many films as charming either.

Taking a premise that could have easily went off the rails quickly, director Marc Turtletaub and screenwriter Gavin Steckler deliver a film with plenty of heart thanks in large part to its three outstanding leads – Ben Kingsley, Harriet Sansom Harris and Jane Curtin.

Kingsley plays Milton, who is living a simple life in a small Pennsylvania community. Milton’s wife passed years before and he is estranged from his son, but still in constant contact with his daughter Denise (Zoe Winters).

Denise is worried that her father’s cognitive skills are slipping (she finds a can of green beans in the bathroom cabinet and a newspaper in the freezer), but Milton is determined to keep his independence.

Milton’s simple life is upended when a UFO crash lands in his back yard with an extra-terrestrial passenger who quickly develops a bond with him. Things are further complicated when two of Milton’s neighbors – Sandy (Harris) and Joyce (Curtin) – learn about Milton’s new guest.

The premise – basically a geriatric version of “E.T.” – is one that could have been squandered in the wrong hands. Fortunately, Turtletaub handles Steckler’s material with care, really accentuating the underline themes of loss and aging gracefully in “Jules.”

For the most part, this is a story that stays grounded, even with an alien walking around in wacky T-shirts that the three leads keep giving him to “cover up.” Only when the government gets involved in the final act does “Jules” start to tread on the conventional path.

Of course it’s much easier to go a little unconventional and subdued when you have such a talented cast to work with. Kingsley is fantastic, one of the all-time great actors proving that he can still command an audience’s attention and carry a film at 79.

Harris has been so good working with Paul Thomas Anderson in small roles in recent films “Phantom Thread” and “Licorice Pizza” that it really is great to see her get a larger role here. And to no one’s surprise, she delivers yet again, as does Curtin, who takes the crusty neighbor character and creates something a little more than you would expect.

It all adds up to a film that is one of 2023’s most pleasant surprises. I went into “Jules” knowing very little about it, but it’s definitely a film that will stay with me – a beautiful little gem about aging gracefully.

Starring: Ben Kingsley, Harriet Sansom Harris

Directed by: Marc Turtletaub

Rating: PG-13 for language

Playing at: Regal Bowling Green Stadium 12

Grade: B