Labor Day (2013)

One of my all time favorites.

Best movie ever!

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Labor Day stars Kate Winselt and Josh Brolin and tells the tale of a single mother who helps a convict out as he escaped from prison and is on the run from the cops. The story is told through Winslet's charcthers son who is played by Tobey Maguire and the movie intertwines with Kate's charcther falling for the convict. But will the convict hand himself in after killing his former girlfriend?? or did he kill her at all?Bottom line I though it was an OK movie its not a film I would be dying to see again as my uncle told me about this film and he suggested me to see it. If you are a fan of Winslet or Tobey Maguire than check it outC-

The Film Score is what melded this whole film into brilliance. I cannot believe that the Powers in Place overlooked that. Forget every award but this soundtrack; it wove this tale that kept me engrossed, emotional, entailed; I was be struck!! This has become a favorite along side "The Note Book" and others but even more so. It also struck me as the entire story is told in the perception of the boy. I guess we could tell a entirely different story for the mother and the escaped convict. I would be welcome to all. Brilliant story telling but again: when you tell a story that is static and not visually moving; you better have the goods to grip. This has all the chops because I believe each actor committed to the project and it is felt by me the movie goer. Kudos x 10000 for the Screenplay and the casting. I watch it more than the Notebook.

In a shift in tone and subject matter for director Jason Reitman ('Juno', 'Up In The Air'), his newest film 'Labor Day' is a sweet tale of love and starting over. Originally written by Joyce Maynard with a screenplay treatment by Reitman himself, this gem of a film is a slice of great pie. Sure, this situation would never play out as it did in the film, but is one that we would hope for. With a stellar cast that includes Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Tobey Maguire, J.K. Simmons, Gattlin Griffith, and James Van Der Beek, 'Labor Day' is a holiday I'd revisit again and feel good about it.'Labor Day' was originally a novel by Maynard, and is transferred to film almost perfectly. The film is set in the mid 1980s as we meet single mother Adele (Winslet) and her young boy Henry (Griffith). Adele's ex-husband left her for his secretary (Clark Gregg) and still plays a role in Henry's life. However, the divorce has taken a large toll on Adele. So much so that she is afraid to leave the house but once a month to do grocery shopping. Meanwhile, the young Henry is left to take care of his mother, go to the bank, and fix small things around the house.While at the local super-market, Henry comes across a stranger named Frank (Brolin) who seems to be bleeding from his stomach. In what seems in a blink of an eye, Frank forces Henry and Adele to help him heal and avoid the authorities. Come to find out, Frank is an escaped convict. His crime was murder, as we see his back story unravel through a series of wonderfully crafted flashbacks throughout the film. Frank is a great man who is patient, pleasant, extremely nice, and can cook a mean pie.In the part that would never happen in real life, Adele and Frank begin to fall for each other over the course of a weekend, as Frank fixes the house up, teaches Henry to bake a pie and play catch, and even dances the night away with Adele. Meanwhile, Henry and Adele have to keep Frank a secret as the police are searching for him night and day. Soon, Adele is able to get out of the house with ease and begins to trust people again. On the other hand, Henry is discovering girls and learning what it takes to be a man.Reitman tells this wonderful story at a magic pace, as we get enough time with these character to truly fall in love with them. It's also a beautiful film to look at. Brolin and Winslet turn in solid performances and Griffith shines as the kid who is starting to find himself. One of the flaws of the film is some of its dialogue is a bit on the cheesy side with a few clichés that are hit too hard on the nose. But it never detracts from the overall viewing experience. I really loved seeing the 1980s set design. From the old school television sets to the 'Star Wars' and 'E.T.' posters on the walls, and even the characters watching 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'. It really brought me back to my childhood. 'Labor Day' won't fascinate everyone, but if you give it a chance, I'm sure you'll walk away satisfied.

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.