Kate Winslet has retreated into seclusion and inner turmoil ever since her divorce from Clark Gregg. She lives with her young son Gattlin Griffith, leaving the house as infrequently as possible and sometimes letting her depression get the better of her, forcing Gattlin to step up and act as the man of the house. On one such excursion to the store on Labor Day weekend, Josh Brolin approaches them. He's bleeding, limping, in trouble, and asks for a ride. The scared, shy Kate agrees and takes him to her house. They soon find out Josh is an escaped convict, but while he holds them hostage, he's unexpectedly kind and brings life back to the house.I absolutely love this movie. From the opening scene, director Jason Reitman sets the pace and environment beautifully for the audience. He gives the film a loving touch, and since Kate and Josh both give the best performances of their careers, I'm sure Reitman gave his actors fantastic direction. He also wrote the screenplay; I've read the book, and Reitman greatly improved Joyce Maynard's original novel.To say I don't usually like Kate Winslet would be the understatement of the year. She's fantastic in Labor Day, as is Josh Brolin. I don't know why they both weren't nominated for Oscars for their thoughtful, multi-layered performances. Hopefully Gattlin Griffith will have a career boost after this film, since it's a treasured commodity to find a child star who can actually act. J.K. Simmons, Brooke Smith, Tobey Maguire, and James Van Der Beek have small but memorable roles in the film, more proof that the Jason Reitman gave everyone fantastic direction.This film has become a staple in my house, one we watch every year in September, and sometimes on Valentine's Day as well. It's romantic, poignant, dramatic, suspenseful, and touching. Bring your Kleenexes and get ready for an unforgettable film this Labor Day weekend.

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.

The movie presents yet another blow to my single-male ego. So now even a known escaped murderer can sweep a beautiful woman off her feet, in one weekend no less, better than I can? I should just give up.OK, I will just accept that this concept is just movie magic and suspend my disbelief for the sake of the movie. I guess I will also suspend my disbelief that a protective mother would let an escaped murderer (no matter how calm or attractive) stay in her house under any circumstances. And I will suspend disbelief that a mature-for-his-age boy would not do something (anything) to protect his mom from the perceived threat (especially as he should have felt guilty about bringing the stranger into their lives in the first place). And lastly, I should just accept that a murderer on the run would spend time outside in broad daylight performing chores for the captive family when the neighborhood is swarming with police searching for him.Other than those flaws, the movie is quite well done, with good acting performances all- around, good story pacing, and a script detailed enough to build three dimensional characters outside of the main story.Just because I am a sucker for romance, I will recommend this movie (with the above reservations) to fellow romance-seekers.

Sometimes you go to the movies and it is great drama--maybe Citizen Kane, A Streetcar Named Desire, or Raging Bull. Other times, it is not drama of any quality, but you still enjoy yourself, perhaps immensely--say Airplane, Godzilla vs Mothra, or Rocky III.Fundamentally, Labor Day is a chick flick of the second category. Josh Brolin plays Frank, a man on the run for double murder who escaped prison by jumping from a second floor window. Limping into a K-Mart, he is spying single mom Adele (Kate Winslet) someone who he thinks he can talk into helping him. Adele's 13-year-old son Henry starts chatting with Frank, and seems to think it would be okay to offer this man bleeding in a K-mart a ride to... somewhere.Let me stop here. This movie is already off the rails. There is NO CHANCE this would ever happen, and yet... time for Godzilla!! We suspend our disbelief, and it gets better. They take Frank home and he starts doing household chores while hiding out from the police-- landscapes the yard, changes the oil in the car, even bakes a peach pie. He turns out to be a great guy, and the lonely, tormented Adele falls for him, offering her a chance for love again.At this point, you would think it would be lights out, but--yo! Adrian!--something about this movie keeps you around. The actors are good, really good, and they play it with as much conviction as if they were doing Hamlet (well, maybe not quite that much). The characters emerge, and you can sympathize with them, root for them and believe in them. You might even start to think that love might cause something this implausible, since, after all, we all have our own stories. It is both half-baked and absorbing.Critical response has been hot and cold--easy to understand given the contradictions. Winslet, Brolin and Griffith are convincing, no matter how ridiculous their plot. It's Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr all over again, a chick-flick Bonnie and Clyde.