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.
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