Depressed single mom Adele and her son Henry offer a wounded, fearsome man a ride. As police search town for the escaped convict, the mother and son gradually learn his true story as their options become increasingly limited.
A group of high school teenagers and their parents attempt to navigate the many ways the Internet has changed their relationships, their communication, their self-image, and their love lives.
Soon after her divorce, a fiction writer returns to her home in small-town Minnesota, looking to rekindle a romance with her ex-boyfriend, who is now happily married and has a newborn daughter.
Director:
Jason Reitman
Stars:
Charlize Theron,
Patrick Wilson,
Patton Oswalt
A look at the lives of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose paths have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Oklahoma house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional woman who raised them.
Director:
John Wells
Stars:
Meryl Streep,
Dermot Mulroney,
Julia Roberts
The lives of two lovelorn spouses from separate marriages, a registered sex offender, and a disgraced ex-police officer intersect as they struggle to resist their vulnerabilities and temptations in suburban Connecticut.
Director:
Todd Field
Stars:
Kate Winslet,
Jennifer Connelly,
Patrick Wilson
Post-WWII Germany: Nearly a decade after his affair with an older woman came to a mysterious end, law student Michael Berg re-encounters his former lover as she defends herself in a war-crime trial.
A world-weary political journalist picks up the story of a woman's search for her son, who was taken away from her decades ago after she became pregnant and was forced to live in a convent.
Director:
Stephen Frears
Stars:
Judi Dench,
Steve Coogan,
Sophie Kennedy Clark
A pregnant teenager flees her abusive mother in search of her father, only to be rejected by her stepmother and forced to survive on the streets until a compassionate stranger offers a hopeful alternative.
A young couple living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their two children.
Director:
Sam Mendes
Stars:
Leonardo DiCaprio,
Kate Winslet,
Christopher Fitzgerald
When a foreign exchange student arrives in a small upstate New York town, she challenges the dynamics of her host family's relationships and alters their lives forever.
Director:
Drake Doremus
Stars:
Felicity Jones,
Guy Pearce,
Mackenzie Davis
Life changes in an instant for young Mia Hall after a car accident puts her in a coma. During an out-of-body experience, she must decide whether to wake up and live a life far different than she had imagined. The choice is hers if she can go on.
A former British Army officer, who was tormented as a prisoner of war at a Japanese labor camp during World War II, discovers that the man responsible for much of his treatment is still alive and sets out to confront him.
Director:
Jonathan Teplitzky
Stars:
Colin Firth,
Nicole Kidman,
Stellan Skarsgård
A depressed mother's husband has left her for she could not bear a second child. Living alone with her only son, she has an unlikely meeting with an injured escaped convict, and reluctantly takes him into her own care. The man proves to be better than his criminal image as the three bond over Labor Day weekend. The only problem? Everyone in town is looking for him.
According to the book, the library is open on Sunday because of a book sale. See more »
Goofs
A limited edition (video store / retail outlet) plastic raised 3D VHS video cassette promotional poster ("Available on Videocassette") of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial seen in Henry's room. This movie takes place in September 1987, however it was not until May 1988 when it was announced that E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial's long awaited VHS home video release date would finally be on October 27, 1988. (It sold for $24.95. A $5 rebate from Pepsi-Cola reduced the price to $19.95). See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Adult Henry:
It was just the two of us after my father left. She said I should count the baby he had with his new wife Marjorie as part of my family too. Plus Richard, Marjorie's son. For the most part my mother never mentioned my father, or the woman he was married to now.
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For a relatively young filmmaker, Jason Reitman is a keen observer and a skilled storyteller. In "Thank You for Smoking" and "Up in the Air" he has offered unique and insightful views into the business world, and in his latest "Labor Day" he continues to intrigue us with a different subject, a fragmented family that yearns to become full again.
Kate Winslet, Gattlin Griffith, and Josh Brolin bring palpable chemistry as a tired single mother, her whole-world adolescent son, and a ragged man who walks into their life by chance. The somewhat contrived setup is compensated with an intimate observation of these very different characters, as they learn to appreciate and show us precisely what they can do to complement each other. Like other Reitman films, this one has signs of wisdom embedded here and there. There may be a simple quote that comes to greater significance in a later scene, or a plot device that may start making sense when the film is about to finish.
The ending is rather rushed and roughly executed with the older version of Winslet looking eerily lively and the brief appearance of Tobey Maguire that feels superfluous. Still, the meticulous and sensual narrative of the film is so inspirational that, when the film is over, you will find your senses heightened in more ways than one.
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For a relatively young filmmaker, Jason Reitman is a keen observer and a skilled storyteller. In "Thank You for Smoking" and "Up in the Air" he has offered unique and insightful views into the business world, and in his latest "Labor Day" he continues to intrigue us with a different subject, a fragmented family that yearns to become full again.
Kate Winslet, Gattlin Griffith, and Josh Brolin bring palpable chemistry as a tired single mother, her whole-world adolescent son, and a ragged man who walks into their life by chance. The somewhat contrived setup is compensated with an intimate observation of these very different characters, as they learn to appreciate and show us precisely what they can do to complement each other. Like other Reitman films, this one has signs of wisdom embedded here and there. There may be a simple quote that comes to greater significance in a later scene, or a plot device that may start making sense when the film is about to finish.
The ending is rather rushed and roughly executed with the older version of Winslet looking eerily lively and the brief appearance of Tobey Maguire that feels superfluous. Still, the meticulous and sensual narrative of the film is so inspirational that, when the film is over, you will find your senses heightened in more ways than one.