Labor Day

Labor Day offers a believably written story of two people who thought they would never find love and happiness in their lives, but fate gave them a few days together that changed both of their lives from the ground up. The film stands above all on the performances of Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin, who were brilliantly seconded by the young Gattlin Griffith. Thanks to flashbacks, we slowly uncover the sad story of the two main characters and basically have no idea how things will turn out for them until the very end – a big plus for the unpredictability of the plot. Through the character of Henry, alongside the love storyline, the film offers a coming-of-age tale and seeing the world through a child's eyes, which is not as black and white as it might seem. Although the film has a slower pace at first, it doesn't get boring, and in the last third the atmosphere could almost be cut with a knife at times. (03/12/2020)

Jason Reitman is excellent at capturing the chemistry between people on screen through skillfully edited shots of the main characters and their body language. He was able to do this in his earlier films, especially in Up in The Air. Essentially, this one a very similar conversation, just set two decades earlier and with the difference that this time the main characters know exactly what they want, whereas in the previous film they had to figure it out first. Perhaps this takes away from the realism a bit and it falls into the realm of fiction (in terms of execution and storytelling), but Josh Brolin and Kate Winslet have charisma. It's a pity that the second half of the film is predictable, because the initial conversation was very enjoyable. (11/15/2014)

A whiny, drawn out, and incredibly uninspiring spectacle like something from the Sparks, where I had to spend the whole time thinking about my vacation starting the next day so I wouldn't eat my arm out of boredom. It embodies virtually every aspect of cinematic evil – guilt, fatalism, mistrust breaking into love, becoming a man, soft lights – and it's got practically zero budget. Better to read the book instead. A different one, that is. (05/19/2014)

A quite interesting story, but in my opinion, it is a bit dampened by too peaceful acting. Emotions literally overflow from Kate, but Josh Brolin's character could have been even more ambivalent, even rougher. Like this, it's a rather intriguing romance, but it still drags on enough to completely draw a person in and hit them in the end. (06/02/2014)

Not many films today can boast such precise, focused direction. Every look of the actors, every shot, has its place. This is a long way from the "red library", as some here write. Of course, some naysayers might find it there, especially in the final climax, but there's nothing to be done about that. Kate Winslet is fantastic Josh Brolin’s charisma is enormous. (09/24/2014)