One of my all time favorites.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

The plot of LABOR DAY is straightforward enough: depressed single mum Adele (Kate Winslet) struggles to look after thirteen-year-old Henry (Gattlin Griffith). Suddenly an escaped prisoner Frank (Josh Brolin) rudely interrupts the rhythm of their lives - although initially frightened of him, both Adele and Henry come to admire Frank as he helps to create a new (and idyllic) family life for them.The plot is a familiar one, exploited for horrific effect in movies such as THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1955), but here used to prompt reflection on precisely what constitutes a so-called "criminal" mind. Director Jason Reitman does a fine job of recreating a hot- house small-town atmosphere in Massachusetts, c.1987, where all the inhabitants know one another and keep "dropping in" at unexpected moments, making the job of concealing Frank from prying eyes that much more difficult. Despite the location, it's clear that the residents of this town keep themselves to themselves: when neighbor Evelyn (Brooke Smith) comes to visit with her wheelchair-bound son Barry (Micah Fowler), she literally foists Barry on Adele, in spite of Adele's obvious protests. In this kind of environment, it's hardly surprising that Adele should find Frank so attractive, both physically as well as emotionally.Reitman contrasts the adolescent Henry's reactions to Frank with flashbacks to Frank's troubled childhood. We learn how Frank, despite his obvious virtues, never really had a chance in life - as the child of a troubled family with a murderous secret to conceal, he never really knew what stability was like. Hence his willingness to stay at Adele's, despite the obvious personal risks involved.Henry has a profoundly ambivalent attitude towards Frank's presence. While obviously happy for his mother, he feels somehow shut out from this idyllic family life, a fear that is exacerbated after his conversations with fellow-adolescent Eleanor (Brighid Fleming), whose turbulent background has given her a jaundiced view of parenthood. Henry believes himself to be in love with her (perhaps for the first time), and hence experiences an inner conflict: should he believe Eleanor or trust in his mother?The film does a grand job of analyzing the complexities of these relationships. Reitman's camera-work is intense, with tight close- ups alternating with establishing shots focusing on the claustrophobic atmosphere in which the drama takes place. Given the care and attention paid to setting up the central conflicts, it's a shame that the film's ending has to be so sentimentally tame. We learn what has happened to Henry in the intervening years since 1987; likewise Frank and Adele. Everything seems to go favorably for all them - an outcome redolent of Hollywood at its mushiest rather than a logical consequence of what we have previously seen. We end up feeling rather disappointed, as if we have been somewhat short-changed by a film with such promising beginnings.

This is a very beautiful movie full of emotions and complex relationships. At start it may seemed crude and rushed but give it time and you may end up loving it. By the middle I was thinking it has peaked and kept waiting for an awful ending as it is common in such movies. To my surprise the ending was even more beautiful. There were so many ways it could have ended badly leaving a sour taste and washing over the good parts like so many movies do. But it didn't. This is a rare gem!I want to say a lot more about the movie but it may spoil the experience for those who haven't yet watched it. I didn't watch any trailers or other promotional material (I rarely do), so except the basic plot I didn't know what to expect. I don't know how much did they revealed in trailers but its best to avoid them.

I just finished watching this movie after renting it from RedBox, and this was a great movie. Definitely one that will make you feel really good. Let me talk about what makes this movie great. The plot of this movie that we are familiar with of Adele played by Kate Winslet and her 13-year old son Henry, played by Gattlin Griffith hiding an escaped convict, Frank played by Josh Brolin from authorities, and seeing him for who he is. That sounds like a plot that we'd see on Soap Operas. But, watching this movie does not look like tuning into television for a Soap Opera because it doesn't have that kind of mood. What else is great from this movie, the movie takes place in the '80s, 1987 a time a lot of us wish to go back to even if we weren't born back then considering life to have been more simple then. A lot of this movie is told from Henry's point of view. He's a good kid and likable character, and it shows some of his emotions which are typical of boys his age. This movie also takes place in a rural area. That being said, as rural areas are typically quiet this movie is mostly quiet with slow background music, and slow scenes such as characters walking. But, that being said the movie was great because slow scenes can sometimes make a movie boring or realistic. I felt like this movie was slow, but not boring and definitely realistic. The characters we meet in this movie also seem like realistic people, like your everyday type of people. The plot from this movie also seems realistic, and it does not show scenes that seem like they wouldn't or couldn't happen.Sometimes, it's nice to watch movies that seem like real life, even if the story might be fiction. Movies with relatable and believable characters, as we can connect more if the characters seem relatable. Also, we might be used to a lot of special effects nowadays, or fun fictitious plots which there's nothing wrong about that. But, sometimes it's nice to watch a movie where they don't go all out to film it, without so many special effects, and without a plot or action that only seems to happen in movies. Sometimes a person can think small if they want a good movie, not needing an extremely expensive budget and countless special effects to make a successful movie. They can make an entertaining movie and even show characters that seem like your everyday people. I felt like Henry made this movie very likable. Also, if you are not sure about the plot of the movie, minus an ex convict staying at somebody's house, you will not be too sure what to expect as the slowness of the movie makes the scenes less predictable. I really wasn't sure what to expect. You expect something, but you ask yourself when will it happen and will it happen?If you're up for an easy movie, and a love story then this movie definitely is for you. It will show typical life, and make it seem so happy. I give this movie a 10/10, because I felt like it was really well done, especially for a simple movie.

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.