ranidemunck I've put the movie on pause because I literally can't stop crying. This movie touches me on so many levels. SUCH well acting! Dear God, don't hesitate to watch this movie. It's really one of my favs.

jloran-29602 The Film Score is what melded this whole film into brilliance. I cannot believe that the Powers in Place overlooked that. Forget every award but this soundtrack; it wove this tale that kept me engrossed, emotional, entailed; I was be struck!! This has become a favorite along side "The Note Book" and others but even more so. It also struck me as the entire story is told in the perception of the boy. I guess we could tell a entirely different story for the mother and the escaped convict. I would be welcome to all. Brilliant story telling but again: when you tell a story that is static and not visually moving; you better have the goods to grip. This has all the chops because I believe each actor committed to the project and it is felt by me the movie goer. Kudos x 10000 for the Screenplay and the casting. I watch it more than the Notebook.

Python Hyena Labor Day (2013): Dir: Jason Reitman / Cast: Josh Brolin, Kate Winslet, Gattlin Griffith, Brighid Fleming, Tobey Maguire: Manipulative drivel about a long weekend that brought passion and love in the most unexpected way. Kate Winslet plays a single mother battling depression, and Gattlin Griffith plays her wise beyond years son. Josh Brolin plays an injured escape convict who spends the weekend at their house. He means no harm and declares that the murder charge isn't what the news is reporting. There is a back story that regards getting home after Vietnam only to learn that his baby really isn't his. Winslet's husband ran off with his secretary so her son does most of the errands. Starts out interesting until manipulation sets in. He ties her up gently hinting the pathetic attempt at kinky. Neighbors stop by unannounced then they make a peach pie. Even the cop stopping by seems like a bad plot contrivance. This doesn't end with the satisfaction that perhaps director Jason Reitman believes he achieves but this is a major step down after directing great films like Juno and Thank You For Smoking. The principal actors play out their roles with appeal and sometimes conviction but smaller roles are an annoyance. We have Tobey Maguire in a brief role as the film's narrative. The biggest idiot is a manipulative girl, played by Brighid Fleming who comes off like an adult in a juvenile body. Her talks with Griffith are never convincing and further lend reason why this is nothing more than a high budget soap opera unworthy of viewing on any day let alone Labor. Score: 4 ½ / 10

TxMike We were able to watch this on Netflix streaming movies. Both my wife and I consider it one of the better movies we have seen recently.There isn't any action, no chase scenes, no sex, no raw language, but it is a deep examination of good people with serious flaws attempting to make their way in this world.It is 1987, New Hampshire (actually filmed in Massachusetts), Kate Winslet is single mom Adele, living with her young son in a house that is in serious need of many minor repairs and sprucing up. After things that happened earlier in her life she mainly stays inside, sends her son to the bank for money, and shops for clothing and home supplies roughly once a month. One day while they are at a store in town the boy is approached by Josh Brolin as Frank. He acts guarded, he has a wound in his right side, and a bloody head. He tells them he needs a ride, they are in no position to turn him down. Young Gattlin Griffith is effective as the son, Henry, who after this Labor Day weekend is finished will start school in the 7th grade. They bring Frank to their home, they patch him up best they can. He was serving time for murder and while in the hospital for appendix surgery jumped out the 2nd story window to escape.So most of the movie is showing how perhaps Frank isn't the monster that the law thought, he befriends Adele and Hank, cooks and cleans, makes minor repairs, shows them how to make pies from fresh ripe peaches, teaches Hank a bit about baseball. For those few days Adele and Hank had a man in the house, one they could relate to.But the law was looking for Frank and part of the suspense is to see how he survives all this. All the characters are flawed, this is not a feel-good story for most of it. The script is very good and very tight and the acting is first-rate. Good movie for those who have the patience to let a good story unfold.SPOILERS: Frank and Adele decide they and Hank will pack up their things and drive to Canada to make a new life there. It almost works but a letter Hank left for his dad and a suspicious neighbor alert the police and Frank is forced to give up. He gets sent back to prison, plus some time tacked on, and Adele loses custody of her son for cooperating with a fugitive. With Frank's influence Hank grows up to be an award-winning baker owning a pie shop (small end role for Tobey Maguire) and after Frank serves his time of 20+ more years Adele is still single and they get together to build a life.