Labor Day (2013) User Reviews

A new kind of film from Reitman

[LetwitJr · 8/10 · 10 September 2013]

I attended the premiere of Labor Day at the Toronto International Film Festival. Most people walked in expecting a Juno/Up in the Air style comedy and if that's what you expect you'll be mildly surprised. The film is darker that Reitman's usual works though you still recognize the director's touch.

The movie tells the story of Adele (Kate Winslet), a woman who slowly shut herself off from the world, relying heavily on her young son Henry (Gattlin Griffith), whose father abandoned them to another wife and other children. Enters a menacing escaped convict (Josh Brolin) who finds refuge with Adele and her son as he tries to remain hidden from the police.

The summary will have you believe that 'the mother and son gradually learn his true story as their options become increasingly limited.' or that the family realizes they're now prisoners in their own home which makes it sound like the movie is going to be some sort of Panic Room 2 but the story is nothing like that. As Adele and her son get to know the prisoner, they both find the family they've been longing for.

It's a beautiful story despite being somewhat implausible but I found what mattered wasn't the story we see, so much as witnessing the characters finally having a shot at happiness and how the remainder of their days is shaped by this weekend they spent together. This film isn't driven by dialogue as much as Reitman's other films were. The director has said in interviews that he found it challenging to do a movie where there was little dialogue (he actually said without music or dialogue and I walked in half expecting to see a silent film.) He worked around it by having Tobey Maguire narrate the film as an older Henry. The narration works though I think the film could have done without it as well. Don't let the whole 'silent' thing keep you from seeing this film, I found there was enough dialogue, and there is music as well though unlike Juno it doesn't play as a whole hipster soundtrack.

The movie is more subtle yet more raw, slower than his usual films and it lets the actors take us through every emotion. Kate Winslet is a terrific actress and she gave a beautiful performance as Adele, very convincingly portraying a woman who's given up on living. Josh Brolin was great as well, giving us both a tough convict and a soft hearted man at times. Gattlin Griffith was great at a kid who grew up faster than he should. I'm always very iffy when it comes to child actors but he pulled it off very well.

In conclusion, Labor Day is a different, more adult and more mature film from Jason Reitman. It's a nice transitions from his previous comedies and goes a bit deeper than his other films, bringing tension, tears and some laughs. Whether you're already a Reitman fan or not, I recommend this film, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

a very human movie

[r-hehl · 7/10 · 14 May 2014]

Today I gave my rating for this movie that I really liked. I did not want to write a review but I was a little disappointed by the summary for the movie written on IMDb. It says: "Depressed single mom Adele and her son Henry offer a wounded, fearsome man a ride." Adele and her son do not offer the man a ride which is very important for the story. Having said this, let me say a little about this movie. The movie plays very nicely with fear and tension. Any moment we expect something very terrible to happen. Murder, betrayal, rape, you name it. In contrast, an interesting and amicable relationship between the three main characters develops. The movie even has a happy end that is kind of unexpected. Seeing this movie I felt like being in an earthquake only to learn afterwards that no damage was done.

..you can find love in the most unexpected places

[bcheng93 · 7/10 · 16 April 2014]

OK, Josh Brolin has redeemed himself after the disaster of "Old Boy", phew...i was getting worried there as he is one of my favorite actors. this movie is totally different then what i had thought of it in my head. i thought it was gonna be a little bit like the movie " a perfect world " but it was nothing like that.

i was surprised this movie came and went without any fanfare as it really is a good movie and one of my favorites of the year. the 2 adult leads were great and the kid was also very good.

the story is about an escaped convict who gets holed up in a mentally fragile divorcée and her sons home over Labor Day and then what happens the next few days and the consequences of peoples actions even if they didn't mean anything bad by doing such acts.

loved the setting in a slow moving beautiful town atmosphere where it seems like everything moves like molasses, there seem to be a calmness to the picture but right underneath that you could feel the uneasiness and hidden angst of each of the characters in this movie.

also this is a movie about the coming of age of the boy and some of the logical and illogical choices he makes, including one biggg one that has direct consequences for Josh Brolins character.

very very solid movie, bittersweet and moving, almost, but not made me cried. Josh Brolin is back on track again, very good performance from him and everybody involved. one of the must see movies of the year.

An art film, more focused on emotions and senses than story

[outdoorcats · 10 November 2013]

Labor Day is an unbelievably gorgeous mood piece, a finely-tuned film which is strongly driven by senses and emotions over plot or story. It's arguably one of the best films of 2013.

I haven't seen a Reitman film since Juno so I haven't caught up. So I'm not sure where he matured from a 'good' director of a quirky script to an 'art' director who can carry an entire film on his shoulders. That's not to say everyone else in this film didn't do a great job. But the film works because of Reitman's meticulous vision.

Heavy use of cross-fades, editing driven by emotional undercurrent over logic, and some stream-of-consciousness flowing from a mysterious source. The music is avant-garde and beautiful, one moment eerie and unsettling, the next pleasant and lilting. Which reflects the way the film, like a piece of classical music, displays sudden shifts of mood or tonality, back and forth, requiring your utmost concentration and appreciation.

Writing too much else would spoil the fun. But the mindset you should bring this film, should you want to see it, is to give yourself over to the experience, rather than bringing an overly (and unnecessarily) critical mind to it's 'unoriginal' or 'uneventful' plot.

A great performance from Kate Winslet

[amirma-78982 · 7/10 · 18 August 2020]

The story was good and I felt myself like watching one of 80i movies, Kate Winslet performance was extraordinary you don't even feel she is acting she is living her role and being so nature in that.

Kate Winslet proves again that she is one of the greatest actresses of all times.

[gioprete79 · 7/10 · 4 December 2013]

I haven't got to say a lot about this upcoming motion picture but praise Kate Winslets dynamic intimate and breath taking performance.Kate once again gives it all on the big screen. And one thing I am telling you for sure, she is going for an Oscar. Since we saw Kate winning that golden statue back in 2009 for her performance in the historic ''The Reader'', Kate has been a bit distant from the screen. Apart from her minor movie roles in ''Contagion'' and ''Movie 43'' and of course the successful ''Carnage'', Kate hadn't had a big emotional performance like that for years. The English Rose once again leaves us with tears on our eyes with her performance. She proves us through the film that she for sure deserves the title of one of the greatest actresses of all times. Apart from Winslet's praised and acclaimed performance the film is generally very good and it will make you tear a bit that's a fact! However, the screenplay is a bit dull for this film and the rhythm of the whole motion picture a bit slow. I wont be surprised if the film receives mixed reviews from critics.

Beautiful!

[ahalida · 7/10 · 13 July 2014]

It's very rare I write a review for a movie, but I gotta say this was truly a beautiful film, full of love, desire and courage. Love leads us places where we don't expect to appear. This movie was about it. Dramas like this is not often we see. For everyone who likes slow-motion movies and wants to experience love, should watch it. Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin were brilliant as ever! Surprisingly we also see Tobey Maguire in the film too. As a conclusion I wanna say that this was one of the recent movies worth to give it a shot. I hope we'll see dramas like this again in near future. Thank you Mr. Reinar! Beautiful! Loved it!

A Journey Into Relationships and Haunting Dreams

[mkelly54 · 9/10 · 3 February 2014]

If you're interested in a good adult romantic drama, look no further than the movie "Labor Day."

Superior acting by Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin and young Gattlin Griffith, this is a story with multi- layered depth and haunting flashbacks through dreams ... some viewers might become impatient as the various dream scenes flicker across the movie screen. Just wait, it's all done with amazing dramatic effect, and when the dream scape finally reveals itself, you'll be impressed with the final story.

More importantly, "Labor Day" displays the under utilized message of the impact of relationships, even though the positive results are revealed many years later.

The soundtrack is unusual and haunting, providing a surreal effect on the entire production.

An unexpected but pleasant movie to watch

[mrcibubur · 7/10 · 24 December 2014]

There is no doubt about the implausibility of a lonely depressed Mother and her Son being picked up by a man in a grocery store (hardly a supermarket)who turns out to be an escaped convict on the run.

The fact is that the two characters both in terms of real time acting and in terms of the story line blended and bonded well in my personal view and there is nothing appropriate in trivialising a movie which reaches deep inside our hearts and brings more than a few tears to our eyes while watching it as they both seek to re-discover love and a righteous way to live their life.

There are too many films made nowadays focused on action and violence riddled with bad language, perverseness and inappropriate sexuality.

This film is well directed, the screenplay story is entirely logical in the circumstances, the acting does not disappoint and the ending of the film was well considered.

I am not altogether sure of the implied reference to 'Labor Day' in the title and I was initially put off watching this film for a couple of months because I thought this might be some kind of 'Mum gets pregnant' cheesy love-story film. Not like that at all.

I have questions as to who is the real Mother of Henry (Hank) given developments during the story and not having read the book and there is a hollowness to Frank's earlier part of the story with his girlfriend/wife. The same could be said about Adele and her relations with her former husband and what was the real cause of her depression.

There are many issues about this film which merit open discussion but overall this is a super film and should be appreciated and enjoyed on merit.

Much better than I expected

[jdj2122 · 9/10 · 15 September 2013]

The movie Labor Day stars Kate Winslet, Gattlin Griffith, and Josh Brolin. When I saw this film yesterday, I was lucky enough to have the director, Jason Reitman, get up on stage and introduce the movie. He made it clear that this film was not a comedy, but a romantic drama that he made with tons of passion. For what it is, I think the film is amazing. I will warn you, this is a film was made for women, but guys can appreciate it too.

So this movie was fun to watch. There was a lot of tension, and the actors did a good job of making even the unbelievable situations seem natural. There was a mystery that unfolded over the course of the movie, and the film was able to create real emotion and genuine shock from the audience. There is also great cinematography, nice subplots, and a final quarter that keeps you guessing. I'm not exaggerating any of this, so seriously ignore the critics and give this film a chance.

The main thing that is wrong with the film is a certain level of disbelief, but it doesn't require more suspension of disbelief than any of the big blockbuster movies. It could also get cheesy and a little uncomfortable to watch at times, but it is still a great movie. i hope Jason Reitman continues to make great movies, as he has not made a single misstep in his career yet.

This is a good movie to take a girl to on a date, and I'm sure you both could enjoy it. It is a little like a Nicolas Sparks book except with Oscar level acting, directing, cinematography, and screen writing, so if that sounds like your kind of thing, I highly recommend this movie, and reward it with an 8.7/10 stars.

LABOR OF LOVE

[MadamWarden · 7/10 · 29 April 2020]

A sweet little love story with a twist. True love can happen in a weekend. So it seems. 😍

A deeply touching testament to true love and the unexpected ways we find it

[rannynm · 10/10 · 3 February 2014]

"Labor Day" is a deeply touching testament to true love and the unexpected ways we can find it. Adele, played by Kate Winslet, is a single mom struggling with severe depression and her son Henry has to take care of himself and his mother since she has difficulties leaving the house. One day, on a trip to the supermarket, Henry and Adele's lives change forever when they meet a man named Frank who is on the run from the law. Intimidated by the stranger, Adele agrees to help the man despite the fact that he is a wanted fugitive. Over the course of the next four days, Adele and Frank fall deeply in love, something that the two of them never thought they would experience again. However, things get complicated as the man-hunt continues and they realize that they don't have many options left.

I am absolutely in love with this film. It is so powerful and takes a new look at love and the second chances people can have. "Labor Day" is so incredible - every aspect of the movie mixes together perfectly to create a work of art. The visuals are incredible because the scenes are all relatively simple, but each shot is so sensory oriented that it allows the audience to experience what it was like for the character. The locations, costumes and set design are so authentic, and the soundtrack is very fitting for the film and it all comes together to create the perfect the perfect experience.

The acting in this film is phenomenal. There are very few characters and minimal dialogue, so everything is conveyed primarily through simple facial expression and the amazing film work. Kate Winslet does a superb job in this role and is able to communicate more emotions with her technique of subtle expressions than words ever could. Josh Brolin portrayal of Frank is absolutely perfect. He's able to break down the stereotypes placed on his character in the beginning of the film and shows that there is always more to the story than what is on the surface. I also think Gattlin Griffith, who plays Adele's son Henry, shows his characters struggle of having to be the "man" of the house in a very powerful way. You get the sense that he is terrified about what could happen to his family - his mother and himself - once Frank enters the picture, but he still tries to be strong. I love watching his character develop as Henry realizes that Frank might just be the best thing to ever happen to him and his mother. There are so many moments in the film where it seems as if something is going to go terribly wrong for the couple and the suspense of waiting to see what will play out adds an unexpected element of fear to the film. Kate, Josh and Gattlin are fantastic at giving the sense of not knowing what will happen to them in the near future and it really raises the stakes for the family.

Something else that I love about this film is how throughout the movie there are short flashbacks of the past and it is done in such a way that it is hard to tell whose past it is. I think this is neat because it shows that Adele and Frank are more alike than it seems and it is a miracle that they found each other. "Labor Day" is so touching that by the end of the film I was crying harder than I have at a movie in a really long time. It was so incredibly beautiful to see how love can endure no matter what trials surface and no matter how long people are apart. I'd like to believe that everyone can find a love like that and this movie shows that no matter how hurt you have been, there is always another chance for love.

I recommend this movie for ages 13 to 18 because it is very emotional and a bit mature so it may be challenging for younger kids to understand the storyline fully. Overall I give "Labor Day" 5 out of 5 stars because it made me laugh, cry, and it tugged on my heart strings.

Reviewed by Raven D., KIDS FIRST Film Critic. For more youth reviews go to kidsfirst dot org.

Well-acted Reitman attempt at dramatic love story adaptation

[george.schmidt · 7/10 · 31 January 2014]

LABOR DAY (2014) *** Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Gattlin Griffith, Tobey Maguire, Tom Lipinski, Maika Monroe, Clark Gregg, James Van Der Beek, JK Simmons, Brooke Smith, Brighid Fleming, Alexie Gilmore. Jason Reitman's adaptation of Joyce Maynard's dramatic love story set in 1987 about a recently divorced, downward spiraling into depression woman (Winslet, sublimely perfect) and tween son (Griffith) who encounter a fugitive (Brolin acquitting himself nicely) who presses upon staying with them thru the titular three day holiday weekend to avoid the authorities while discovering there are more than one thing that meets the eyes for all the principals involved. While the acting is very good the storyline is at times telegraphed for an all- too-knowing climax and anti-climax too boot yet well worth the viewing even if it is for its much ballyhooed peach pie making sequence meant to rival the clay-sculpture sensuality of "GHOST" (it isn't close).

A Straw Dog on the run in Madison County

[tigerfish50 · 4/10 · 18 October 2013]

'Labor Day' begins in a broken American household. After his parents' divorce, a sensitive seventh-grader chooses to stay with his depressed mother rather than join his father's new family. Henry and Adele remain trapped in a sad, dysfunctional relationship as a child parenting a traumatized adult until they embark on a fateful shopping trip prior to a holiday weekend. They are accosted in a discount store by a threatening stranger, Frank, who demands they give him a ride in their car, and accompanies them to their dilapidated rural home. By the next morning it's apparent he's a dangerous escaped convict, and his departure has become impossible since a police dragnet has surrounded the area.

After this disturbing first act, the film soon leaves 'Desperate Hours/Straw Dogs' territory in the rear view mirror and enters a sunlit world similar to 'The Bridges of Madison County'. Frank confounds pessimistic expectations by coaching Henry in baseball skills, doing various household odd-jobs, servicing the car and baking peach pies. Before too long he's also healing Adele's aching loneliness with his peachy massage techniques. Fine performances from the three lead actors hold the film together, but can't prevent the story's drift into sentimentality and implausibility. The epilogue stretches any remaining credulity beyond belief as it panders to the feel-good requirements of a rich box-office harvest.

Surprisingly entertaining for this time of movie year.

[JohnDeSando · 30 January 2014]

"I'm a lot stronger than you think." "I don't doubt that." Adele and Frank.

Director Jason Reitman is no stranger to unusual family stories (Juno) or character drama (Up in the Air), so his enjoyable Labor Day is a bit of both without the humor. Because this is January, a dead-zone time for releases, it's even more impressive as an audience-pleasing drama about an escaped convict Frank (Josh Brolin) and a mother he kidnaps, Adele (Kate Winslet), along with her 7th grade son, Henry (Gattlin Griffith).

Let's get the formula out now: she falls in love with her captor and the son willingly learns about life and baseball. The real life, however, is hounding them as the law closes in on their 5 days of "family" bliss. However, the authorities are too slow to stop the best family pie making scene ever, domestic stuff just one of charming murderer Frank's gifts and a Reitman specialty.

Recently Mud is similarly about the coming of age and criminal motif and Revolutionary Road with Winslet about a disintegrating family. Yet Reitman and novelist Joyce Maynard have crafted a story that slowly makes believable the growing love between captive and captor, a relationship helped by the classy acting chops of Winslet and Brolin. Although everyone knows helping an escaped criminal leads to serious jail time, this case actually cuts Adele a great deal of slack in the guilty category. As Reitman slowly reveals their mutually grim backgrounds, we are aware that her needs for the touch of a lover are so acute that even this gamble could be worth the risk.

Although Labor Day comes close to Nicholas Sparks' sentimental claptrap, Reitman preserves everyone's dignity, lets love grow, and ushers a kid into a complicated world of love and danger—a labor of love, so to speak, on the film's titular weekend, typically American and hard work: "I sensed my inadequacy," says the adult Henry in voice over. In matters of the heart, we're all inadequate and need films like Labor Day to help us move on.

I read the book and then saw the movie...good acting and direction

[mrncat · 7/10 · 20 July 2015]

I actually read the novel Labor Day by Joyce Maynard before I rented the film. The book is very good and packs an emotional wallop at the end (a similar ending with some added nuances). Having read the book, I knew what was going to happen so in some ways it took away any of the suspense that existed in the film for people who were seeing the story for the first time.

I think the book fills in the details of the characters' lives better than the film does, however the director obviously had to choose how to provide the background stories of Adele and Frank, and given their individual pasts, it wasn't an easy feat. The director did an admirable job in my opinion, yet I don't know if I hadn't read the book if I'd have been able to piece together Frank's story all that well.

The casting of Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin was very inspired and they each captured their characters believably. This is a love story ultimately and being told from the perspective of a 13 year old boy adds a perspective that is refreshing.

Yes but...

[anthony-727 · 6/10 · 22 December 2013]

The first thing I will say is... It is beautifully shot every image is well thought out... so much so that each image lasts a lifetime. The film rambles and rambles and though it has a decent enough story at it's heart and is supported by some very good performances, it is another film that could do with at least 15 minutes cutting out.

Josh Brolin is the lynch pin (for me) of the film, his gravitas keeps a lid on it being too sentimental. The script is okay too but it is simply drawn out when they are packing up to leave, the damn thing goes on for about 2 minutes... I got it after 10 seconds.

Also this man has made a break from prison and when it starts reaching a point to get it together before he gets caught - well guess what. Then they tie the whole ting up in about five minutes.

The flash backs are vague and it seems that what the director wants us to be concerned with is the emotion - so as to the fathers reasons for leaving or his reason for being imprisoned - it's all there but it's all vague and left that way in favor of the quivering emotionality of the relationships - this could have been an excellent movie but misses for me. Josh Borlin though - he's the man!

Troublesome premise mitigated by strong performances and compelling atmosphere

[Buddy-51 · 7/10 · 5 July 2014]

"Labor Day" takes some highly improbable material and somehow makes it work - up to a point, at least.

In fact, it's kind of hard to know exactly what to make of "Labor Day" at first blush. The movie, based on the novel by Joyce Maynard, tells the tale of a love- and sex-starved single mother (Kate Winslet) who falls in love with the "dreamy" escaped convict (Josh Brolin) who's holding her and her 13-year-old son (Gattlin Griffith) hostage in their rural home on Labor Day weekend 1987. For about the first 45 minutes or so, the movie actually seems to be endorsing the rather insulting romantic premise that all an attractive young woman needs to spice up her life is a gutter-cleaning, pie-making, baseball-instructing, son-loving man to come along and sweep her off her feet -.criminal background be damned. But as the focus of our attention shifts from the two unlikely lovers and onto the son who's observing and ultimately commenting on this bizarre situation, the movie deepens into an off-beat and thought-provoking look into the complexities of human nature and of familial relationships (Tobey Maguire provides the narration as the grown-up Henry and makes a brief appearance later in the movie).

Winslet, Brolin and Griffith all give remarkable performances, as do Robert Clark Gregg and James Van Der Beek in supporting roles. Jason Reitman's moody screenplay and muted direction achieve a dreamy, almost hallucinatory quality that transports the tale to the realm of allegory or fable, where credibility doesn't play quite so crucial a role in our overall appreciation of it (a young girl's noting the parallels between what's happening here and the highly fictionalized and romanticized "Bonnie and Clyde" puts the theme into sharp focus).

The movie constantly blurs the line between good and evil, and makes it clear that most things are never quite as clear-cut or as black-and- white as people choose to believe they are, especially when it comes to affairs of the heart.

It's a shame that, after all this, the authors just couldn't resist tacking on a Lifetime Channel-like coda that indulges in all the dime- novel slickery and sentimentality that they've admirably managed to avoid for most of the movie up to that point. Still, "Labor Day" largely triumphs over its potentially troublesome material with its quality performances and direction.

Despite dips into sentimentality, Labor Day is tender and heartbreaking.

[Sergeant_Tibbs · 8/10 · 31 December 2013]

I loved the Labor Day script. I read it a few months ago and while I had doubts about the concept and Jason Reitman at first, it ended up winning me over within pages. Maybe it's because it was written with such wit and tenderness, but it's a human story that truly flows with the emotion delivering the images and intimacy required to express its ideas, dancing just above sentimentality. Although its story is slight, it was satisfying and very rich, taking a situation I'm surprised it hasn't been explored in a more popular film and hitting major themes of family structures and cycles of life. It truly disappoints me to hear that people are not only disliking it, but hating it. It feels like it's being approached from the worst perspective, bracing themselves to cringe. I'm not exactly a Reitman fan either. I think Juno is terrible and it took a rewatch to fall in love with Up In The Air after thinking it was mediocre the first time.

While Labor Day may be far from Reitman's regular tone, in execution it instead highlights his style of energetic and creative cinematography and editing. Like the effect of the script, you can feel the heat and taste the food. Surprisingly, as it's a particularly challenging role given that these types of performances usually struggle, our kid protagonist Gattlin Griffith holds his own among the cast. Kate Winslet is reliably great. These characters seem to be her comfort zone and she's certainly perfected her craft, but we don't often enter her headspace. However, the real standout is Josh Brolin. His performance is the epitome of less-is-more and sells his complex character perfectly. Sinister and cold, yet deep and sensual. The idea that he's doing all the mundane things he hasn't been able to do in decades brings simple delights. It's the measured moments where he cracks that show the breadth of his performance as he breaks down the stereotype of a convict.

Unfortunately, some characters don't work very well, such as kid actors Barry and Eleanor who don't have the conviction to make their scenes work. The flashbacks to Frank's past don't have the same effect as the script despite the eerily similar looking young actor, as they're more confusing than clarifying. Contrary to common complaint, this is not like a lifetime movie. I happened to have watched some recently and they're more concerned with twists and insanity, instead Labor Day is closer to a 1950s domestic melodrama. Think more Far From Heaven than anything. I have a little bias as to how much I like this film, but I walked into the script blind too. Though it need not have had the orchestra swell during the on-the-nose summary lines about what the film's events mean to the characters, Labor Day's emotional punch of two souls bonded by tragic pasts still breaks my heart. I'm just glad Tobey Maguire helped rather than hurt.

8/10

A man with a sore leg cooks for a mother and son

[c-kelsall · 6/10 · 4 December 2020]

A prisoner escapes custody while in hospital. In doing so he hurts his leg. The man approaches a woman and her son at a supermarket. The woman is troubled, her son teenaged but helpful. The man is desperate, the woman is desperate. Their desperation stems from mutually exclusive causes. However, they become romantically entangled in an improbably short three days. The woman is forced to take the man into her home. The man cooks chilli con carne, on the same night I cooked chilli con carne. What are the chances? The woman has nosy neighbours. Not helpful, just nosy. They could have helped the desperate woman before, but didn't. The neighbours smell trouble. The man is arrested before he can leave. The woman is accused of harbouring a criminal. The man is caring and ensures no blame will fall on the woman. The man goes back to prison. The woman writes letters to the man, but receives none in reply. Even so, when his sentence is finished he tracks down the woman. The man and the woman are reunited in a state of bliss. Ergo, it is never to late to be happy. The end.

Loved it!

[yaldataminapopal · 10/10 · 3 August 2022]

What beautiful and heartbreaking movie. It was a slow movie but I loved it. The fact that everything was going so slow made me understand the characters so much more. And the ending was perfect <3.

Like a Godzilla Movie With Good Performances

[joncheskin · 6/10 · 3 January 2015]

Sometimes you go to the movies and it is great drama--maybe Citizen Kane, A Streetcar Named Desire, or Raging Bull. Other times, it is not drama of any quality, but you still enjoy yourself, perhaps immensely--say Airplane, Godzilla vs Mothra, or Rocky III.

Fundamentally, Labor Day is a chick flick of the second category. Josh Brolin plays Frank, a man on the run for double murder who escaped prison by jumping from a second floor window. Limping into a K-Mart, he is spying single mom Adele (Kate Winslet) someone who he thinks he can talk into helping him. Adele's 13-year-old son Henry starts chatting with Frank, and seems to think it would be okay to offer this man bleeding in a K-mart a ride to... somewhere.

Let me stop here. This movie is already off the rails. There is NO CHANCE this would ever happen, and yet... time for Godzilla!! We suspend our disbelief, and it gets better. They take Frank home and he starts doing household chores while hiding out from the police-- landscapes the yard, changes the oil in the car, even bakes a peach pie. He turns out to be a great guy, and the lonely, tormented Adele falls for him, offering her a chance for love again.

At this point, you would think it would be lights out, but--yo! Adrian!--something about this movie keeps you around. The actors are good, really good, and they play it with as much conviction as if they were doing Hamlet (well, maybe not quite that much). The characters emerge, and you can sympathize with them, root for them and believe in them. You might even start to think that love might cause something this implausible, since, after all, we all have our own stories. It is both half-baked and absorbing.

Critical response has been hot and cold--easy to understand given the contradictions. Winslet, Brolin and Griffith are convincing, no matter how ridiculous their plot. It's Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr all over again, a chick-flick Bonnie and Clyde.

Heartwarming tale of human kindness

[lars062 · 10/10 · 23 September 2022]

You never know when you will meet someone special. For sure Adele didn't think that would be Frank, who scared her to death putting his hand around her son's neck. But the "pretend" kidnapper, though an escaped prisoner, showed you can't judge someone by reputation alone. His gentle ways, doing chores around the house, playing catch with her son, Henry, and his gentle and loving attraction toward Adele all made for a good family for a few days.

James Brolin and Kate Winslet are magical in this movie, and in the end, this movie shows that love conquers all. Saw it for the first time on Prime and so glad I did.

Intense Melodrama That Loses the Courage of its Convictions

[l_rawjalaurence · 7/10 · 12 March 2016]

The plot of LABOR DAY is straightforward enough: depressed single mum Adele (Kate Winslet) struggles to look after thirteen-year-old Henry (Gattlin Griffith). Suddenly an escaped prisoner Frank (Josh Brolin) rudely interrupts the rhythm of their lives - although initially frightened of him, both Adele and Henry come to admire Frank as he helps to create a new (and idyllic) family life for them.

The plot is a familiar one, exploited for horrific effect in movies such as THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1955), but here used to prompt reflection on precisely what constitutes a so-called "criminal" mind. Director Jason Reitman does a fine job of recreating a hot- house small-town atmosphere in Massachusetts, c.1987, where all the inhabitants know one another and keep "dropping in" at unexpected moments, making the job of concealing Frank from prying eyes that much more difficult. Despite the location, it's clear that the residents of this town keep themselves to themselves: when neighbor Evelyn (Brooke Smith) comes to visit with her wheelchair-bound son Barry (Micah Fowler), she literally foists Barry on Adele, in spite of Adele's obvious protests. In this kind of environment, it's hardly surprising that Adele should find Frank so attractive, both physically as well as emotionally.

Reitman contrasts the adolescent Henry's reactions to Frank with flashbacks to Frank's troubled childhood. We learn how Frank, despite his obvious virtues, never really had a chance in life - as the child of a troubled family with a murderous secret to conceal, he never really knew what stability was like. Hence his willingness to stay at Adele's, despite the obvious personal risks involved.

Henry has a profoundly ambivalent attitude towards Frank's presence. While obviously happy for his mother, he feels somehow shut out from this idyllic family life, a fear that is exacerbated after his conversations with fellow-adolescent Eleanor (Brighid Fleming), whose turbulent background has given her a jaundiced view of parenthood. Henry believes himself to be in love with her (perhaps for the first time), and hence experiences an inner conflict: should he believe Eleanor or trust in his mother?

The film does a grand job of analyzing the complexities of these relationships. Reitman's camera-work is intense, with tight close- ups alternating with establishing shots focusing on the claustrophobic atmosphere in which the drama takes place.

Given the care and attention paid to setting up the central conflicts, it's a shame that the film's ending has to be so sentimentally tame. We learn what has happened to Henry in the intervening years since 1987; likewise Frank and Adele. Everything seems to go favorably for all them - an outcome redolent of Hollywood at its mushiest rather than a logical consequence of what we have previously seen. We end up feeling rather disappointed, as if we have been somewhat short-changed by a film with such promising beginnings.

A Labor to Watch.

[anaconda-40658 · 4/10 · 11 September 2015]

Labor Day (2013): Dir: Jason Reitman / Cast: Josh Brolin, Kate Winslet, Gattlin Griffith, Brighid Fleming, Tobey Maguire: Manipulative drivel about a long weekend that brought passion and love in the most unexpected way. Kate Winslet plays a single mother battling depression, and Gattlin Griffith plays her wise beyond years son. Josh Brolin plays an injured escape convict who spends the weekend at their house. He means no harm and declares that the murder charge isn't what the news is reporting. There is a back story that regards getting home after Vietnam only to learn that his baby really isn't his. Winslet's husband ran off with his secretary so her son does most of the errands. Starts out interesting until manipulation sets in. He ties her up gently hinting the pathetic attempt at kinky. Neighbors stop by unannounced then they make a peach pie. Even the cop stopping by seems like a bad plot contrivance. This doesn't end with the satisfaction that perhaps director Jason Reitman believes he achieves but this is a major step down after directing great films like Juno and Thank You For Smoking. The principal actors play out their roles with appeal and sometimes conviction but smaller roles are an annoyance. We have Tobey Maguire in a brief role as the film's narrative. The biggest idiot is a manipulative girl, played by Brighid Fleming who comes off like an adult in a juvenile body. Her talks with Griffith are never convincing and further lend reason why this is nothing more than a high budget soap opera unworthy of viewing on any day let alone Labor. Score: 4 ½ / 10