Richard’s Canada AM interview with Labor Day director Jason Reitman.
Richard’s Canada AM interview with Labor Day director Jason Reitman.
Watch the whole thing HERE!
Posts Tagged ‘Labor Day’
Great casting, acting saves Labor Day from predictable Stockholm Syndrome story
By Richard Crouse & Mark Breslin – Reel Guys Metro Canada
Synopsis: Based on Joyce Maynard’s novel of the same name, the action in Labor Day begins when a wounded, escaped criminal (Josh Brolin) hides out in the home of two strangers, Adele, a depressed divorcee (Kate Winslet) and her 13-year-old son, Henry (Gattlin Griffith). What begins as a hostage situation slowly changes as the stranger’s sensitive side is revealed and he becomes a surrogate father figure for Henry and companion for Adele.
• Richard: 3/5
• Steve: 3/5
Richard: Mark, it’s been said that 90 per cent of the director’s job is casting, and on that score Jason Reitman has knocked it out of the park. Labor Day is essentially a three-hander with Winslet, Brolin and Griffith responsible for the emotional weight of the movie. Griffith is convincing as a youngster abruptly placed in the position of son and surrogate spouse, but it is the leads that really carry the movie. Winslet is delicate and effective as the world-weary Adele while Brolin hands in another of his manly man performances, tempered by a hidden sensitive side. I’m curious to hear what you thought.
MB: You bet it’s the acting that makes this one work, Richard! There’s genuine chemistry between Winslet and Brolin. Brolin is so good I could actually believe his escaped convict could be innocent — no small feat. But the movie, set in 1987, feels like it could have been made in 1987. It’s so square compared with Reitman’s other work, which I adore. Only someone who’s never seen a movie before wouldn’t be able to figure out where the story was headed. But you can admire the film’s quiet, stately pace, even if the whole thing feels like it’s ripped out of a Harlequin romance novel. Don’t get me started on the pie scene.
RC: I liked the pie scene. I don’t want to give anything away for people who haven’t seen the movie, but imagine the scene from Ghost with pastry instead of pottery and you’ll get the idea. It’s just wonky enough to spice up the story, and I thought Brolin pulled it off. Of all the leading men out there right now he’s the only one I can think of to have the old school Lee Marvin grit to still look badass while folding pastry.
MB: Me, I just laughed, until I was shushed by a middle-aged woman in the back row … I think the movie would have been more interesting if you weren’t convinced from the start that Brolin was a good guy and if Winslet’s romantic despair weren’t quite so acute. Luckily, Griffith provides a good foil for both of them and distracts the viewer from these issues. One thing I really liked about the movie is its shortened time frame: the entire story takes place over one weekend and it sharpens the plot and the tension.
RC: Even though the movie takes place over one long weekend it does take its time to develop the relationship between Adele and the mysterious stranger. Because Reitman takes his time unveiling the relationship, it’s a bit more believable than the story might otherwise have been. You’re left with the question, “Is it Stockholm Syndrome or true love?”
MB: True need, Richard, and that’s close enough for me.
RICHARD’S “CANADA AM” REVIEWS FOR JAN. 31, 2014 W/ Beverly Thomson.
Film critic Richard Crouse reviews ‘Labor Day’, ‘That Awkward Moment’ and ‘Rhymes for Young Ghouls.’
Watch the whole thing HERE!
LABOR DAY: 3 STARS. “Is it Stockholm Syndrome or true love?”
Based on Joyce Maynard’s novel of the same name, the action in “Labor Day” begins when a wounded, escaped criminal (Josh Brolin) hides out in the home of two strangers, Adele (Kate Winslet), a depressed divorcee and her thirteen year old son Henry (Gattlin Griffith). What begins as a hostage situation slowly changes as the stranger’s sensitive side is revealed and he becomes a surrogate father figure for Henry and companion for Adele.
It’s been said that ninety percent of the director’s job is casting, and on that score director Jason Reitman has knocked it out of the park. “Labor Day” is essentially a three hander with Winslet, Brolin and Griffith responsible for the emotional weight of the movie.
Griffith is convincing as a youngster abruptly placed in the position of son and surrogate spouse, but it is the leads who really carry the movie. Winslet is delicate and effective as the world-weary Adele while Brolin hands in another of his manly man performances, tempered by a hidden sensitive side that manifests itself in many ways.
He does chores around the house, cooks, becomes a stand-in dad to Henry and in one scene, which is sure to divide audiences, he teaches Adele to bake a peach pie.
I liked the pie sequence. I don’t want to give anything away for people who haven’t seen the movie, but imagine the scene from “Ghost” with pastry instead of pottery and you’ll get the idea. It’s just wonky enough to spice up the story, and I thought Brolin pulled it off. Of all the leading men out there right now he’s the only one I can think of to have the old school Lee Marvin grit to still look badass while folding pastry.
The movie takes place over one long weekend and takes its time developing the relationship between Adele and the mysterious stranger. Because Reitman is very deliberate in his storytelling it’s a bit more believable than the story might otherwise have been. You’re left with the question, “Is it Stockholm Syndrome or true love?”
Either way, it is a compelling, if slightly far-fetched tale, of the kinds of connections people make.
Need a troubled tough guy for your next film? Call Josh Brolin.
By Richard Crouse – In Focus Metro Canada
In my review for the recent remake of Oldboy I wrote, “There is no more manly-man actor in the mold of Lee Marvin or Lee Van Cleef working today.”
I guess that shouldn’t be a surprise given that he was named after the rough-and-tumble character Josh Randall played by Steve McQueen in TV’s Wanted: Dead or Alive.
In Oldboy he’s so tough he’s a practically indestructible force of nature; able to withstand physical punishment that would make Grigori Rasputin look like a wimp.
The tough guy angle is one Brolin plays in a number of films, including his latest Labor Day. He plays an escaped convict who hides out in the home of a depressed, widowed agoraphobic, played by Kate Winslet. Over the course of one long holiday weekend she learns of his dangerous past and before you can say the words Stockholm Syndrome has fallen for the ruggedly handsome stranger.
It’s the kind of role that Brolin has mastered; the multi-layered tough guy but according to him, he doesn’t seek out those roles.
He says he wracks his “brain like crazy trying to figure out which films I wanted to be in.”
Some of those films include No Country for Old Men and Jonah Hex.
In the Oscar nominated No Country he plays down-on-his-luck Llewelyn Moss, who stumbles across the site of a drug deal gone wrong. Bullet-ridden dead men litter the landscape along with several kilos of heroin and a suitcase stuffed with two million dollars in cash. When he makes off with the money his life and the lives of those around him are changed forever.
Jonah Hex didn’t earn any Oscar nods, but did get some Razzie attention in the form of nominations for Worst Screen Couple for Brolin and co-star Megan Fox. The story of a supernatural bounty hunter set on revenge against the man who killed his family is as disfigured as its main character’s face but Brolin brings his real-life swagger to the role and has fun with some of the tongue-in-what’s-left-of-his-cheek lines.
One tough guy role got away from him however. On-line speculation had it that he would be cast as the Caped Crusader in the upcoming Batman vs. Superman. Although he would have been perfect for the part he lost out to Ben Affleck. Contrary to his bruiser persona he was gracious in defeat. “I’m happy for Ben,” he said.
