Labor Day - 25/03/2014
Stockholm Syndrome, or capture-bonding, is a psychological phenomenon in which the hostages express empathy and sympathy and have positive feelings towards their captors, sometimes to the point of defending and identifying with them.
Kate Winslett plays a socially inept, recently divorced, mum of one who is held hostage by an escaped fugitive, Josh Brolin. Feelings grow between the "family" as the fugitive hides from neighbours, police and the rest of the world. Josh teaches Kate how to bake, laugh, and love again, whilst also teaching the son how to play baseball. All this happens within a long bank-holiday weekend.
All I can assume is that due to her social deprivation, the first male she has spent any decent amount of time with suddenly becomes an infatuation. Either that or he makes a fantastic chilli! Her son on the other hand is so in need of a father figure that he begins to dote on the fugitive almost immediately. This must be Stockholm Syndrome to the extreme, within 24 hours they are madly in love and ready to run away together.
All I can assume is that due to her social deprivation, the first male she has spent any decent amount of time with suddenly becomes an infatuation. Either that or he makes a fantastic chilli! Her son on the other hand is so in need of a father figure that he begins to dote on the fugitive almost immediately. This must be Stockholm Syndrome to the extreme, within 24 hours they are madly in love and ready to run away together.
There was one scene in the film that rang true with both Clare and I and brought a little tear to our eyes. This was not down to the acting, but the subject being portrayed on the screen. The reasons and feelings from this one scene resonated to our own lives and the loss of a child during early pregnancy. Not wanting to see other people for fear of not being able to control emotions and seeing happy mothers and babies all around is very hard, and without the support of a loving family, I am sure we could have been in a similar situation to Kate Winslet and we too could have hidden ourselves away from everyone and everything.
Labor Day is set in 1987 and there is so much product and film placement to remind you of this all the way through it becomes a "Spot the Reference" game. From posters of ET and Empire Strikes Back to shops full of retro cola cans.
To have the film narrated by Tobey Maguire and have him make a little cameo was really off putting too. Also with Dawson (James Van Der Beek) making a little appearance as well as Agent Coulson from Agents of Shield and Avengers playing the estranged Dad (starting the film in scruffs and ending with him putting on a suit and tie could only mean he started his job in S.H.I.E.L.D at the end of the film), and then you throw in J K Simmons as the concerned peach loving neighbour, I started getting an urge to watch Spiderman!
A very forgettable film
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