Labor Day

In this romantic drama from writer/director Jason Reitman (Up in the Air) the idea of Stockholm syndrome, where hostages bond with their kidnappers, is refined to great dramatic effect. Josh Brolin plays escaped convict Frank Chambers, who forces Kate Winslet's lonely, fragile single mother Adele and her adolescent son Henry (Gattlin Griffith) to give him shelter. Before you can say "howdy" they are in love - all three of them. The speed of the emotional developments stretches credibility, while more time is devoted to baking a pie than might be allocated on a Jamie Oliver cookery programme. However, the pacing actually works in terms of building atmosphere and mood, and the whole thing hangs together remarkably well because Winslet and Brolin have time to flesh out their characters. It can be a little formulaic at times (a retrospective adult voiceover recalls Stand by Me and the plot echoes Clint Eastwood's A Perfect World), but Reitman skilfully cranks up the tension, leaving you desperate to find out how it ends.