Labor Day
Director: Jason Reitman
Screenwriter: Jason Reitman
Cast: Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Gattlin Griffith, Tobey Maguire
Paramount Pictures
Rated PG-13 | 111 Minutes
Release Date: January 31, 2013

Written for the screen and directed by Jason Reitman (Young Adult), Labor Day is based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Joyce Maynard.

Labor Day is a major departure for Reitman, who is best known for acerbic comedies like Thank You for Smoking, Juno, Up in the Air, and the aforementioned Young Adult.

A melodrama that dabbles in darkness with a dash of Lifetime Original romance, Labor Day is basically a trashy romance novel disguised as an Oscar contender.

The film, which takes place in 1987, stars Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road) as Adele Wheeler, a depressed single mom who lives in a rural home with her 13-year-old son, Henry (Gattlin Griffith).

On a back-to-school shopping trip, Henry and his mother encounter Frank Chambers (Josh Brolin), an intimidating man who is injured and in need of help. Frank convinces them to take him into their home, where they learn that he is a convict wanted by the police after breaking out of jail.

Jason Reitman’s Labor Day is a complete departure from the down to earth comedies we normally see him direct. It’s a darker turn for the acclaimed director. The film is based on the Joyce Manyard novel of the same name and follows 13-year-old boy (Gattlin Griffith) and his reclusive mother (Kate Winslet) who help pick up a man (Josh Brolin) in need of help. Little do they know that the person they helped out is actually a dangerous fugitive who ends up holding the family that helped him hostage during Labor Day Weekend.

The film has already received some high praise at both the Toronto International Film Festival and Telluride Film Festival. It also stars J.K. Simmons, Clark Gregg, James Van Der Beek, and Tobey Maguire. Paramount will give the movie a limited release on December 25, and it will expand nationwide on January 31. Hit the jump to see a pair of trailers.

Sure, it may not be playing any of this year’s major festivals, but Jason Reitman‘s Young Adult is still one of the biggest Fall film season players, particularly given the film’s pedigree.

From Oscar-nominated director Reitman and Oscar-winner Diablo Cody, the film stars A-listers Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson, and even comedian Patton Oswalt, and follows the story of a writer who tries to win back her newly wedded old flame.

THR has the first poster for the film, and it looks absolutely awesome (see it in full here below). Now, with this poster, you don’t get much with regards to the actual film, but with the main lead being a 30-something young-adult-fiction writer, this thing really just feels awesome.

Up In The Air
Directed by Jason Reitman
Starring George Clooney, Jason Bateman, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick
Release date: December 4, 2009 (limited)

“Everywhere I travel, tiny life. Single-serving sugar, single-serving cream, single pat of butter. The microwave Cordon Bleu hobby kit. Shampoo-conditioner combos, sample-packaged mouthwash, tiny bars of soap. The people I meet on each flight? They’re single-serving friends.”
— Narrator from Fight Club

“Make no mistake your relationships are the heaviest components in your life. All those negotiations and arguments and secrets, the compromises. The slower we move the faster we die. Make no mistake, moving is living. Some animals were meant to carry each other to live symbiotically over a lifetime. Star crossed lovers, monogamous swans. We are not swans. We are sharks.”
— Ryan Bingham from Up In The Air

Up In The Air: Life In The Descent

The beauty of getting lost at the movies is that it allows us to visit worlds vastly different from our own. It is the greatest exercise in being a fly on the wall. It is the ultimate act of voyeurism. Going to the movies, listening to an album or reading a book are some of the greatest trips we will ever take in our lives. Jason Reitman’s Up In The Air is one of those experiences. Before I go any further, it must be stated that Jason Reitman is his own man. He stepped out of his father’s shadow as soon his first feature, Thank You For Smoking, was released in 2006. He followed that with Juno in 2007 and the rest, as they say, is history. While it helps to be Ivan Reitman’s son in order to have a shot in this business, you have to have talent and hunger to survive in this industry; Jason Reitman has both in spades. He is three for three as far as directing films is concerned. The nepotism claim can be thrown away. He, like Nick Cassavetes, Jake Kasdan, and especially Sofia Coppola have forged their identities in the entertainment business. A famous last name can only get one so far, you have to have the talent and skills to truly survive and endure in the film business.