The set up sees Kate Winslet starring as Adele, a woman living with her 13-year old son, Henry. Adele is in a bad place, a single mom battling with depression, and ahead of the five-day Labor Day holiday weekend, Josh Brolin’s escaped convict Frank comes into their lives. More to the point, he ends up hiding out in their house over the weekend. To the surprise of all concerned, he soon finds himself bonding with both Adele and Henry. Neither of whom – and this is the leap of faith the film requires you to take – raise the alarm as soon as they can. The upside to this shouldn’t be understated though, as it allows Reitman to slowly develop the relationship between Frank, Adele and Henry. Furthermore, he takes time out of the house to also show the connection that Henry makes with a slightly older girl by the name of Eleanor (played well by Brighid Fleming). And where Reitman’s long, dusty build-up finally pays dividends is in the final stretch of the film. To that point though, Labor Day has been a testing piece of work, anchored by two excellent performances from Winslet and Brolin, but perhaps too effectively getting across how empty a long holiday weekend can be. Still, Reitman gradually peels back the history of his two lead characters, and keeps in mind the constant threat that Henry may go to live with his father – played by Clark Gregg – instead. Cameos too are contributed by James Van Der Beek and Tobey Maguire. Yet the middle portion of Labor Day asks for an awful lot of patience, which it only patchily rewards. It’s arguably Reitman’s least accessible film since his breakthrough with Thank You For Smoking, but it’s not without merits. It’s still a film that you feel few other directors would even think about making. Frustratingly, it just doesn’t quite hold you as it should for good parts of its running time. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here