Cert 12A
115 mins
BBFC advice: Contains infrequent moderate sex, sex references and violence
Sheffield Cineworld on Wednesday night and I was surrounded by middle-aged women.
Ok, there were a few chaps who had been dragged along to see Labor Day by their other halves but there was only one man sitting alone - and that was me.
And, just in case you are wondering, Mrs W was absent because I had already been in Sheffield through work when I decided to tick off a couple of movies.
I digress. It appears that 38-year-old Kate Winslet, whose Titanic was the must-see picture of the young, now attracts a more mature audience.
Or perhaps the ladies were lured in by the rugged good looks of 46-year-old Josh Brolin (actually, as someone who is just a bit older, I like to think so).
I was surprised by the demographic because, despite its publicity poster, Labor Day has a bit more to it than a plain chick flick.
Based on Joyce Maynard's novel, it surrounds the prison escape of a man (Brolin) serving 18 years for murder.
In an attempt to avoid the cops, he forces himself upon a depressed divorcee (Winslet) and her son (Gattlin Griffith).
But, as the hours pass, the lovelorn mum falls more and more for the surprisingly compassionate convict.
And as he sees the joy returning to his mother, her son also begins to take to the unexpected man in the house.
Let's be clear: I am a Winslet fan - I am sure that, like Helen Mirren, she will go on to be a national treasure.
I always feel that she gives every last drop of emotion to her performances and that is definitely the case here where her anxiety is almost tangible.
Brolin also has great presence and his varied CV goes a long way to proving his considerable talent.
Labor Day is seen through the eyes of the child and Griffith adds a performance which carries the audience through Jason Reitman's movie.
But there are elements to the picture which prevent it being one of the best of the year.
Number one is its final two or three minutes in which realism evaporates and number two is that it goes over the same ground time and again.
I just felt it needed picking up during its stodgy middle section.
However, the evidence shows that women of a certain age will love it.
Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 7/10