Jason Reitman has had a great run as a director in his fairly young career so far, sporting a strong resume that includes Juno, Up In The Air, Young Adult, and Thank You For Smoking. His latest feature Labor Day, is easily his most polarizing film to date, and I can understand why. It’s premise is one that’s hard to truly believe it. Reitman wrote the film based on Joyce Maynard’s novel of the same name.
On labor day weekend in 1987 a mother named Adele (Kate Winslet) and her 13-year-old-son Henry (Gattlin Griffith) are out getting groceries when they are approached by an escaped convict named Frank (Josh Brolin). Injured and desperate for their help, Frank pleads with them to take him to their house. He doesn’t give them much of a choice in the matter, but he doesn’t exactly force their hand as much as you’d think either.
This would be a troubling manner for anyone, but it doesn’t help that Adele is a depressed woman who hardly leaves her home (only for grocery trips like this) or interact with others. Oddly enough, Frank is gentle with both her and Henry, tying them to chairs (gently) in case police use a polygraph test on them to determine if they were truly held hostage by Frank. Soon Frank becomes more than gentle with Adele, as they slowly form a bond that goes beyond compassion, more towards passion. A few days pass and the cops are out on the hunt, but they never find Frank. Soon enough Frank becomes so comfortable that he begins doing chores around the house, fixing stairs and changing the oil in the car.
Frank acts like a father to Henry, teaching him how to play baseball. Soon he becomes more and more intimate with the family, making peach pies with them. In due time you almost forget that this man is supposed to be a dangerous convict keeping them hostage. Slowly as the film progresses, Reitman gives us glimpses of Frank’s past, and we see what he did to put him in this position. As you can guess, Frank isn’t quite the criminal that he’s believed to be, but it doesn’t change anything.
The notion that a family would welcome a convict into their home and let him assume the role of daddy is hard to picture. If this concept is already troublesome for you, then your minds already made about Labor Day. When you learn that the mother eventually falls for this man and wants to run away with him to start a new life, you’re eyes may as well stay permanently lodged in the back of your skull. But for those willing to give it a chance, they may find some touching moments to be had.
Reitman’s script is fine and all (if not a bit too melodramatic), but if not for the performances from his two adult leads, Labor Day would have been much more problematic than it is. Kate Winslet gives a great performance as Adele, selling her role as a lady heartbroken by the idea of love and the whole world that surrounds it. Josh Brolin is right at home with his role as Frank, a misunderstood man who just wants a second chance in live. Young actor Gattlin Griffith works well under the two playing his part well enough. Clark Gregg plays Adele’s ex-husband, a rather unlikeable role that is a bit of a heel turn. There’s also a surprising appearance from James Van Der Beek that’s completely from left field but worked well.
While there was a lot that didn’t work for me, I found Labor Day’s final moments somewhat touching. Yeah, it was over the top and surely overly saccharine, but it found a way overcome its faults enough to keep me interested. It didn’t reduce me to tears, but something about it connected. No matter how cheesy and ridiculous I found certain scenes, I didn’t find Labor Day to be as tedious as others did. It definitely has its fair share of problems (The casting of Tobey McGuire took me out of the moment) and does have moments where it feels like a Lifetime movie, but it also showcases two performances from two big time actors, that makes it all somewhat worthwhile.
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