Labor Day-2013

Director Jason Reitman

Starring Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin

Scott’s Review #116

Reviewed July 17, 2014 

Grade: B+

Labor Day (2013) is quite simply a modern love story.

Set in 1987 on a hot Labor Day weekend in New Hampshire, a boy and his mother are approached by an escaped convict pleading for help.

They reluctantly agree, and what follows is a weekend of mixed emotions and bonding among the three.

Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin have great chemistry as the leads, and although the film feels like it was set in 1987, it looks quite modern.

The woman is divorced and insecure and bordering on being a shut-in. The son is more like the parent, taking care of her and running errands.

An older version of the son narrates the film (played by Tobey Maguire). Questions run through the viewer’s mind throughout the film, which is a major positive.

Can the convict be trusted? Is he guilty or is there more to the story? Is the mother falling for him or pretending to escape?

All the action plays out over one weekend while the town is on high alert and everyone searches for the escaped convict, and most of it takes place in the family home, giving the film a stage-production feel.

The film includes tense moments and flashbacks of both the convict’s and the woman’s lives before they meet, so we, as viewers, get to know them well.

Despite their differences, the couple has a rooting value to them thanks to Brolin’s and Winslet’s talents.

Labor Day (2013) is a well-made film that received little recognition.