Labor Day (PG15) – starring Josh Brolin, Kate Winslet, Gattlin Griffith, directed by Jason Reitman
This romantic drama centres on one long Labor Day weekend and how the consequences of those three days end up shaping the lives of one New England family. Henry Wheeler is a 13-year-old boy struggling to care for his fragile mother Adele (Winslet) after his father leaves. On a trip to the local grocery store, Henry meets Frank Chambers (Brolin). Aggressive and intimidating, Chambers is an escaped convict on the run, who manages to find shelter in the Wheeler home.
As a romance blooms between captor and captive, the film finds each character filling in the pieces and performing roles they thought they’d lost – father and son and husband and wife. The domestic bliss however is short-lived as a police manhunt escalates.
Based on the bestselling novel by Joyce Maynard, the film’s complicated characters are what make this movie likeable even if the storyline is extremely far-fetched. Surprisingly tender and powerful performances from the cast keep the movie grounded even when fragmented flashbacks, which work better in the novel rather than on screen, disrupt the narrative.
Labor Day hits the big screen on Thursday 30th January.
Also Opening
12 Years a Slave (PG13)
This powerful drama tells the real-life story of Solomon Northup, a free black man from New York, who is abducted and sold into slavery. A front-runner in the award season, this harrowing tale is not one to miss. Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender and Bryan Batt.
Lone Survivor (15+)
Based on a true story, four Navy SEAL’s find themselves trapped in the mountains of Afghanistan with the odds stacked against them. Mark Wahlberg stars as Marcus Luttrell, who must guide his team as they fight for their lives. Also starring Taylor Kitsch and Emile Hirsch.
The Package (TBC)
This action flick follows a courier’s dangerous journey as he delivers a mysterious package for a local crime lord. Chased by a horde of gangsters, Tommy Wick (Steve Austin) discovers the package isn’t what he was led to believe it was – and now he’s in more trouble than he thought. Also starring Dolph Lundgren.
