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Labor Day: A Slow But Rewarding Movie For The Ultimate Romantics

Posted on April 29, 2014 Written by ripitup

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Josh Brolin, Kate Winslet, Labor Day
Image via heyuguys.co.uk

 

 

Labor Day starring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin

Adele’s (Kate Winslet) husband (Clark Gregg) has left her for his secretary, and she lives with her son Henry. Henry is pretty much the only joy in her isolated and depressed existence.

She leaves her house once a month with Henry for groceries, and this is where escaped convict Frank (Josh Brolin) enlists their help. I say “enlist”, because even though he does subtly hint they don’t have a choice, and keeps Henry closeby, you could say this is the nicest hostage-taking situation ever. (Yep, I know how weird it sounds.) Frank asks them to drive to their house.

Once there, he tells them he only needs to hide until trains start, and he doesn’t mean any harm. At first Adele is skeptical and defensive, but Frank proves his kind nature by taking good care of them. After he realizes there might not be a train due to the holiday, he proves to be the best house guest ever by taking the chores upon himself, and being a better housemate/partner/father than Henry’s father ever was in the short span of time. He and Adele share an immense connection –so much so that Adele doesn’t want him to leave.

Of course hiding a convict in a small town full of nosy people isn’t easy. Add to this Henry’s confused adoloscent mindset and his new manipulative friend…and let’s say, the tension picks up…

*

Based on Joyce Maynard’s novel, Labor Day is a modest, slow but sincere film. The acting is really good, and even if you want to dismiss some of the dialogue as sappy, you can’t. Josh Brolin owns his character: a gentle guy who did something horrible without intending to, and Kate Winslet is just lovely. She transforms gracefully from sad and tired to passionate and lively. And given both their pasts with the opposite sex (Frank’s is slowly revealed through flashbacks), and how opposite they are personally to those people (and not to mention, how attractive both Kate and Josh are), the romance, commitment and passion make a lot of sense.

Speaking of flashbacks, the choice for young Brolin (Tom Lipinski) just might be the best younger version casting choice I’ve ever seen. They look so much alike, you could imagine Lipinski as Brolin in the future.

 

The only thing that bothered me as how Henry – the kid- starts as a lovely, thoughtful and insightful kid but then makes such naive, silly choices that makes you wonder if it’s the same kid. That said, this is not a complaint about the story. Yes, he is an adolescent. And he is somewhat isolated. Combine hormones and the complexity/novelty of the situation, it makes sense. I was just really disappointed because I expected more from him.

The movie also features two fun cameos from James Van Der Beek and J.K. Simmons. The movie was adapted and directed by Jason Reitman (Juno, Up in the Air, Thank You For Smoking).

I recommed Labor Day to all romantics. Is the ending sad? Yes and no. It’d frankly be my third preffered ending. If you see the movie, we can discuss those in the comments. Would hate to spoil things for you.

After all, this is not a romantic comedy. The ending isn’t that clear, though of course you can feel it coming at some point.

But I absolutely loved Brolin’s character.

Let me know what you think.:)

P S I decided to read the book to see how they compare.

 

 

 

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Clark Gregg, Jason Reitman, josh brolin, josh brolin labor day, kate winslet, kate winslet labor day, labor day, labor day cast, labor day movie, labor day movie review

Up in the Air starring George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick

Posted on March 13, 2010 Written by ripitup

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Up in the Air, starring George Clooney
Up in the Air, starring George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick. Emotional and fun. Loved to see George doing some soul-searching. image via newsblaze.com

Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) leads most of his life up in the air, literally. His job description mostly is about flying over to whatever company needs his services and firing the employees that need to be fired. He does it with style, grace and professionalism, and without really letting it get to him. He absolutely loves the traveling and the benefits it brings him. This job might have been depressing or tiresome for some people, but strangely Ryan lives for it.

One day he meets a beautiful frequent business traveler named Alex (Vera Farmiga) and they hit it off, starting a very smooth casual relationship. Ryan’s lifestyle is not questioned at all by her.

The only flaw in Ryan’s life comes through in the shape of another woman called Natalie (Anna Kendrick). Ryan’s boss (Jason Bateman) is very impressed by this young and ambitious girl and her “innovative ideas. She thinks firing people can be done on the ground, through technology. From then on, Ryan starts to mentor Natalie unwillingly, trying to prove why the old school methods are best. But of course a young, hopeless romantic versus an older, experienced, proud-to-be-single guy brings out many clashes and makes out for a fun and emotional journey where both will learn some stuff.

While Up in the Air has its romantic moments, emotional realizations and some relationships going on about it, it is not about two people about finding love. This is not a love story or a story about love. This is a story about a journey, being mostly Ryan’s. It is fun to see George Clooney play a seemingly simple but yet so endearingly flawed and complicated character. I missed seeing him be the humane leading man. I had had too much Clooney after Oceans 11,12 and 13. Good to have him in a more sincere production.

I am not saying it doesn’t have clichés. But then again, they are only necessary and they are subtly and entertainingly played. So, it is all good. The movie is based on the novel by Walter Kim (who also wrote Thumbsucker). It is adapted to the screen by director Jason Reitman (Juno, Thank You for Smoking) and Sheldon Turner. The cast is pretty good. Frankly, I barely recognized Anna Kendrick. I knew she was so familiar, but I couldn’t believe she was one of the actors in the Twilight saga. Nice job, Anna.

The movie was nominated for 6 Oscars this year: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress (Both Kendrick and Farmiga), Best Actor (George Clooney), Best Director and Best Film. Though it didn’t receive any Academy Awards, it won many awards- including a BAFTA for Best Adapted Screenplay.

A bittersweet movie about life, goals, careers, matters of the heart and well…everything in between. It reminds me of Cameron Crowe movies (Jerry Maguire, for instance) and just like I love  Crowe, I loved Up in the Air. It might make you evaluate your life or fear about your job many times, though.

7.9 on IMDB. Fair enough.

 

Other Posts on George Clooney:

The American starring George Clooney, Violante Placido & Thekla Reuten

What Editors Can Learn from the Movie Up in the Air – a post for writers, inspired by the film

Friends Trivia: Monica Geller (Courteney Cox)’s Boyfriends 2 feat. George Clooney


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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: academy award nominee, Anna Kendrick, drama, George Clooney, Jason Bateman, Jason Reitman, movies, romance, Vera Farmiga, Walter Kim

In the mood for a fun romcom novel?

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