Labor Day (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
'Labor Day' (directed by Jason Reitman, Juno, Up in the Air, Young Adult) is one strange movie. Part bizarre romance, part coming-of-age drama, part domestic thriller ... the movie doesn't coalesce as well as one might hope. It's flawed, it rings false at times, however, it's also an earnest film with strong performances & a satisfying ending. The story takes place during 1987 in picturesque New Hampshire, where divorced Adele (Kate Winslet) lives alone with her 13 yr. old son, Henry (relative newcomer, Gattlin Griffith). She's afflicted with crippling depression & acute agoraphobia. On an extremely rare day when she leaves her house to go shopping, she & Henry encounter Frank (Josh Brolin), an escaped convict who is bleeding from his abdomen & in need of help.
Adele initially refuses {who wouldn't?}, but changes her mind when Frank makes a 'threat' to Henry's life. They all return to Adele's house where they learn that Frank is an escaped prisoner (for murder) & wanted by the police. Over the course of this long Labor Day weekend (Fri-Mon) Frank hides out from the feds at Adele's house, fixes the place up, bonds with Henry, and a commences a romance with Adele {yes, really}. All the while, young Henry is nervous, impressionable, doesn't care for his real father, sorta/kinda likes Frank, is confused about the sensual noises coming from his mother's room at night, realizes that his hormones are starting to rage, & worries about what all of this means for his immediate future. Melodrama ensues.
Now, for a while, 'Labor Day' seems headed in a psychological drama/thriller vein as we wonder about Frank's motives. We see flashbacks to his past & we start to figure out who he is, what - if any - prior connection he has to Adele, & the circumstances surrounding his arrest for murder many years ago. But really, Frank winds up being a 'what you see is what you get' character -- an escaped convict with a magical heart of gold. He even cooks (there's a sensuous - if also enjoyably over-the-top - scene where the 3 leads bake a peach pie). There are no "twists", either - which are falsely alluded to early in the proceedings. Once we figure out that there's nothing dangerous about Frank, we feel 'better' about his romance with Adele. They are both lost souls who find comfort with each other. But if you really stop to think about it, what sensitive, loving, caring mother of her only son would ever allow this to happen in her household? It felt ... off.
You know, I liked 'Labor Day' juuuuuust enough to override the flaws. But boy, do some stick out. A subplot involving Henry and a 'wild' teen girl that he likes is painful. Nothing about their friendship felt genuine -- all movie dialogue & scripted happenstance to move certain plot points forward. Ughh. There is also a sequence near the end involving a too-helpful cop (James Van Der Beek, where has HE been?) that felt overly contrived & poorly executed. And there are just a plethora of individual moments & minor scenes where I kept thinking, 'Really? Why did she say that?' or 'Now why would he do that?' or 'You gotta be kidding me'.
Kate Winslet is very good as Adele, a sad woman looking anywhere for a spark of hope in a life that has repeatedly disappointed her. Josh Brolin is also quite good as Frank, the magical ex-con who may or may not have ulterior motives. His chemistry with Winslet is palpable; and one of the saving graces of the movie. I also liked Gattlin Griffith as Henry. Sure, he spends most of the proceedings looking concerned by everything going on around him. But he is the emotional center of the film, & I think he does a decent job; cute kid, too. So yeah, the performances raise the level of the direction/script.
Jason Reitman has a great track record with his films. Each one, whether I enjoyed them or not, oozes quality. Even though I liked this movie, I suppose my so-so reaction to it must be attributed to the Nicholas Sparks-lite source material (the novel from which it's based). The Notebook aside, most of those Nicholas Sparks novels/film adaptations have been sappy melodramas with little insight into the human condition. So really, Jason Reitman should be commended for trying to make the awkward/unsure narrative elements here as palatable as they are thanks to his assured filmmaking & help from some stellar actors. I liked the beginning of 'Labor Day'. I liked the ending. It's just that too much of the middle made the overall positive outcome feel a bit unearned.
Adele initially refuses {who wouldn't?}, but changes her mind when Frank makes a 'threat' to Henry's life. They all return to Adele's house where they learn that Frank is an escaped prisoner (for murder) & wanted by the police. Over the course of this long Labor Day weekend (Fri-Mon) Frank hides out from the feds at Adele's house, fixes the place up, bonds with Henry, and a commences a romance with Adele {yes, really}. All the while, young Henry is nervous, impressionable, doesn't care for his real father, sorta/kinda likes Frank, is confused about the sensual noises coming from his mother's room at night, realizes that his hormones are starting to rage, & worries about what all of this means for his immediate future. Melodrama ensues.
Now, for a while, 'Labor Day' seems headed in a psychological drama/thriller vein as we wonder about Frank's motives. We see flashbacks to his past & we start to figure out who he is, what - if any - prior connection he has to Adele, & the circumstances surrounding his arrest for murder many years ago. But really, Frank winds up being a 'what you see is what you get' character -- an escaped convict with a magical heart of gold. He even cooks (there's a sensuous - if also enjoyably over-the-top - scene where the 3 leads bake a peach pie). There are no "twists", either - which are falsely alluded to early in the proceedings. Once we figure out that there's nothing dangerous about Frank, we feel 'better' about his romance with Adele. They are both lost souls who find comfort with each other. But if you really stop to think about it, what sensitive, loving, caring mother of her only son would ever allow this to happen in her household? It felt ... off.
You know, I liked 'Labor Day' juuuuuust enough to override the flaws. But boy, do some stick out. A subplot involving Henry and a 'wild' teen girl that he likes is painful. Nothing about their friendship felt genuine -- all movie dialogue & scripted happenstance to move certain plot points forward. Ughh. There is also a sequence near the end involving a too-helpful cop (James Van Der Beek, where has HE been?) that felt overly contrived & poorly executed. And there are just a plethora of individual moments & minor scenes where I kept thinking, 'Really? Why did she say that?' or 'Now why would he do that?' or 'You gotta be kidding me'.
Kate Winslet is very good as Adele, a sad woman looking anywhere for a spark of hope in a life that has repeatedly disappointed her. Josh Brolin is also quite good as Frank, the magical ex-con who may or may not have ulterior motives. His chemistry with Winslet is palpable; and one of the saving graces of the movie. I also liked Gattlin Griffith as Henry. Sure, he spends most of the proceedings looking concerned by everything going on around him. But he is the emotional center of the film, & I think he does a decent job; cute kid, too. So yeah, the performances raise the level of the direction/script.
Jason Reitman has a great track record with his films. Each one, whether I enjoyed them or not, oozes quality. Even though I liked this movie, I suppose my so-so reaction to it must be attributed to the Nicholas Sparks-lite source material (the novel from which it's based). The Notebook aside, most of those Nicholas Sparks novels/film adaptations have been sappy melodramas with little insight into the human condition. So really, Jason Reitman should be commended for trying to make the awkward/unsure narrative elements here as palatable as they are thanks to his assured filmmaking & help from some stellar actors. I liked the beginning of 'Labor Day'. I liked the ending. It's just that too much of the middle made the overall positive outcome feel a bit unearned.