Labor Day (2013)

Menaced by a fugitive or relishing a Godsend in New Hampshire?

A depressed single woman (Kate Winslet) from New Hampshire is compelled to give a questionable man a ride (Josh Brolin) and allows him to briefly recuperate at her verging-on-rundown house where she lives with her son who’s almost 13 (Gattlin Griffith). How will their Labor Day weekend go? James Van Der Beek has a small role as a cop.

“Labor Day” (2013) is a superb adult-oriented drama with an understated sense of possible menace mixed with a little romance. There are elements of “A Perfect World” (1993), “The Bridges of Madison County” (1995), “Macho Callahan” (1970) and "The Place Beyond the Pines" (2012).

This is a spiritual movie about the tragedies and blisses of the human experience. Masculinity is portrayed in a positive way for a change while not neglecting to illustrate its potential drawbacks. Winslet is excellent in her role; she gets more beautiful as she ages. Meanwhile the stunning Maika Monroe has a peripheral role.

The film runs 1 hour, 51 minutes, and was shot mostly in Massachusetts (e.g. Shelburne Falls), as well as Salem, New Hampshire.

GRADE: A-