LABOR DAY

Labor Day tells the story of Adele (Kate Winslet) a depressed single mum who is riddled with anxiety following her divorce from son, Henry's (Gattlin Griffith), father. On the Friday of Labor Day weekend (an international US holiday for all us non-American folk), escaped convict Frank (Josh Brolin) leaves Adele with no option but to let him hide from the police in her home. However, over the weekend both Adele and Henry realise that there is more to Frank than meets the eye.

The film is beautifully shot and, as you would expect from Kate Winslet, wonderfully acted. Winslet plays troubled Adele with empathy and raw emotion, meaning that even though her anxiety has left her a woman of few words, you still feel like you have got a deep understanding of the character. Gattlin Griffith also gives a strong performance as 13-year-old Henry, and being set in 1987 ensured that the film had a pretty, nostalgic vibe throughout.

However, despite the performances and technicalities of the film being faultless, the narrative is simply not

Such a dreamboat.

strong enough to make a fully enjoyable story, and in comparison to Winslet's well-rounded portrayal of Adele, Brolin's 'lovable rouge' character, Frank, felt lazy and saturated with cliches. Frank has escaped from prison where he was serving time for murder, as the film progresses we come to see that there was more to the crime than police would have you believe and the constant flashes of the press reinforcing that a dangerous man is on the run serves as a reinforcement of the contrast between the real Frank and prison inmate Frank.

To be quite frank about Frank, this is a story that has been done a thousand times before, and Labor Day adds nothing original or refreshing to the 'misunderstood tough guy' character, in fact, it is all so stereotypical that Frank becomes somewhat of a caricature. This fugitive that near enough forced his way into Adele and Henry's home is all of a sudden the most perfect man to exist; despite the news stories and other characters in the film harping on about how awful and dangerous he is, we see him teaching Henry how to play baseball, he helps Adele out by doing the manly chores around the house, he plays guitar and throws BBQs and has a way with children - and did I mention that he cooks? Not only does he cook meals for the household, when faced with surplus peaches he even has the wacky idea of turning them into a pie, teaching Adele and Henry how to make pastry in the process (which, by the way, is really not that hard and the way that the film focused on this pastry-making scene you would think that he was teaching them the cure for cancer). Yep, in just one weekend this superhero Frank swoops into the house and shapes their lives forever; because he isn't a cold-hearted murderer, okay? He is a troubled, lovable rouge.

Wow Frank, you can make pastry? Such a genius.

Give me a break. In fact, as the film progresses the constant reinforcement of how brilliant Frank is becomes somewhat nauseating and painful to watch. A pain that only becomes stronger as, oh yes, he and Adele fall hopelessly in love. Did I mention this entire film takes place over one weekend??

The story is littered with implausible moments, for which you will have to seriously suspend your disbelief in order to accept. The film moves painfully slowly through a series of cliches only for the climax to be lazily thought out and underwhelming - suspicions begin to be roused for absolutely no reason, other than for the story to come to some kind of an ending, and the epilogue is just a ridiculous reinforcement of how great, brilliant, and life-defining Frank is.

All in all, it is a shame that Winslet's brilliant acting and the beautiful, autumnal cinematography went to waste on such a stupid storyline. It is by no means a 'bad film' in the conventional sense; thanks to the strong cast it is definitely watchable despite the fact you will constantly be rolling your eyes and scoffing at the cliches, but I simply expected more. It is a slow burner, and the steady stream of 'WTF' moments means that you will not be able to become fully engrossed in the film as common sense will prevail and keep pulling you back into reality. However, the hapless love story and nostalgic setting might make it a film that your grandma will enjoy.

★★☆☆☆

Labor Day is in cinemas nationwide from the 21st of March!

Stay tuned for more reviews and follow me on twitter if you fancy it :)

Love,