Labor Day Parent Guide
Most troubling is the script, which manipulates a story about a convicted killer and a depressed divorcee into a romantic romp just in time for a Valentine's Day theatrical release.
Parent Movie Review
I’m all for second chances at happiness. But when that second chance involves symptoms of the Stockholm syndrome, an escaped criminal that cooks like a chef, and sweltering heat meant to up the sexuality, it all feels a little belabored. Unfortunately that is just what the plot of Labor Day asks you to buy into.
Thirteen-year-old Henry (Gattlin Griffith) lives with his mother Adele (Kate Winslet) in a rural home on a quiet street. His father (Clark Gregg) left the pair for his secretary after Adele suffered a series of miscarriages and fell into a deep and troubling postpartum depression. Henry is old enough to know his mother needs a strong male presence in her life, but too young to fulfill that need.
Instead the pair limps along in an uncomfortable and confining existence with Adele barely able to leave the house—at least not without Henry’s help. However, on the last weekend of summer vacation, they manage to make it to a discount store to get Henry some new school clothes. In the back of the building, Henry stumbles upon a muscular, unshaven man that asks for help. Blood oozes from a wound on the man’s stomach, supposedly the result of falling out of a window. He asks for a ride. Yet once the mother and son take him to their home, the man confesses he is a convict on the run. He ties up Adele and then proceeds to make chili for dinner.
Frank (Josh Brolin), as you soon learn, isn’t your typical murderer. Through a series of flashbacks, the truth of his past is revealed. Meanwhile, in the present, he fixes a loose step, does laundry, cleans out the rain gutters and repairs the car—like a regular domestic denizen. He also teaches Adele and Henry to make peach pie in a scene that is beautifully shot but eerily awkward. Henry senses the rising attraction between the two adults. (His mother has already told him about feelings of “hunger” and “desire” involved with sex.) Later Henry hears the couple engaged in sex in the bedroom next to his.
Despite the discomfort that causes him, Henry likes Frank. Unlike Henry’s father, Frank takes time to teach the boy how to play baseball. He is ready with a good word. He is, to be truthful, too good to believe. And that’s where the plot trips up. Winslet’s emotionally fragile character evokes a certain amount of compassion. Yet there’s something disturbing about watching her succumb so quickly to her captor—a man who may just be playing a part to get Adele to agree to make a run with him for the border.
Along with the sexual depictions and brief discussions about incest, the film includes a depiction of a woman slapping her son, an imagined gunshot that blows out a windshield, a kidnapping and the repeated scene of a domestic murder. Most troubling, however, is the script, which manipulates a story about a convicted killer and a depressed divorcee into a romantic romp just in time for a Valentine’s Day theatrical release.
Directed by Jason Reitman . Starring Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Tobey Maguire, Gattlin Griffith. Running time: 111 minutes. Theatrical release January 31, 2014. Updated July 17, 2017
Labor Day
Rating & Content Info
Why is Labor Day rated PG-13? Labor Day is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for thematic material, brief violence and sexuality.
Violence: A man shoplifts before taking a woman and her son hostage. Bloody injuries are shown. A woman slaps her handicapped child who is trying to tell her something. A character imagines a gunshot that blows out a car windshield. A character dies after being pushed down the stairs. A baby drowns in a bathtub.
Sexual Content: A boy is uncomfortable when his mother begins to discuss the feelings associated with sexual activity. Characters talk about a man who left his wife for his secretary. Barely audible sounds of a couple engaged in sex are heard. A woman’s bare shoulder is briefly seen, along with some cleavage. A boy has sexual fantasies. He kisses a girl. An adult couple kisses. One character says that having sex is like a drug.
Language: The script contains infrequent profanities.
Alcohol / Drug Use: None noted.
Page last updated July 17, 2017
Labor Day Parents' Guide
What is Stockholm syndrome and how does it affect its victims? Could some people be more susceptible to it than others? What makes Adele react the way she does to Frank?
What roles does Henry take on when his father leaves? What pressures do those additional responsibilities put on him? What needs does Henry have that Frank appears to be meeting? Why does Henry’s dad eventually apologize to him? Can children become pawns in their parents’ divorce?
Adele is reading the book “Living the Good Life” by Helen and Scott Nearing. Why do you think this book might be appealing to her?
What brings on Adele’s depression? Why is it so difficult for her to see other pregnant woman? The Mayo Clinic has more information on Postpartum Depression. Blogger Katherine Stone suggests 5 things Dads (and others) can do to help a woman deal with this kind of depression.
This movie is based on a novel by Joyce Maynard.
Home Video
The most recent home video release of Labor Day movie is April 29, 2014. Here are some details…
Home Video Notes: Labor Day
Release Date: 29 April 2014
Labor Day releases to home video (Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy) with the following special features:
- Commentary by director Jason Reitman, director of photography Eric Steelberg and first assistant director/co-producer Jason Blumenfeld
- End of Summer: Making Labor Day
- Deleted Scenes
Related home video titles:
The life of a young boy, who befriends a stranger that moves in upstairs, is forever changed by that relationship in Hearts In Atlantis. An ex-convict takes pity on a single mother and her child in Les Miserables. And the decision to help an accused man puts a lawyer and his family at risk in To Kill A Mockingbird.