When you put Kate Winslet (“Titanic”) and Josh Brolin (“Milk”), two of Hollywood’s greats, together in one film, you would expect fireworks. Unfortunately, this is not the story for the new film “Labor Day.”
Set in 1987 New Hampshire during Labor Day Weekend, Adele (Winslet) and her son Henry (Gattlin Griffith, “Couples Retreat”) are living a slow life in a dilapidated home. Adele is an obviously depressed and anxious woman who rarely leaves the house and is extremely codependent on her 12-year-old son.

During a monthly trip into town for necessities, Henry is approached by fearful Frank (Brolin) to take him back to him and his mother’s home. Little do they know that Frank is an escaped convict who is on the run. What begins as a one-night stay turns into a Labor Day romance for Adele and a five-day glimpse of a different life for Henry. The story is told completely from young Henry’s point of view, therefore never allowing the passion between Adele and Frank to manifest and make their romance tangible to viewers.

There are almost too many plot lines in the mix to make a viewer attached. Henry’s dad left Adele for his secretary, which contributed to Adele being so emotionally jilted by any sort of love in her life. Henry is going through puberty which makes him both extremely naïve and very aware of how quickly Adele and Frank became so close. With many flashbacks, a considerable amount of time during Labor Day Weekend and one too many flash forwards, “Labor Day” is too extremely scattered in its timing to make the viewer completely invested in the story and its characters.

The film’s high point is Griffith, who shines as Henry, a boy who is confused by his mother’s illness yet knows he is all she has. This film was adapted from the novel by Joyce Maynard, and between the lack of character chemistry and the off time structure, this story should have stayed as written word.