Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin may be at the heart of this Jason Reitman directed adaptation (from the Joyce Maynard novel), but at the soul of its story is the narration by Henry (Gattlin Griffith) the little boy. Henry longs to see his divorced and depressed mother, Adele (Winslet) in love again. Apparently Henry’s father left his mother for another woman but it’s not about his mother losing her husband, it’s about losing love.
Enter Frank (Brolin), an escaped convict who holds Adele, and her son, Henry, hostage in their own home. But there isn’t any threats or blindfolds, instead Frank adapts easily to mowing the lawn, and becoming Mister Handy Man, something Adele longs for and something he needs, too. In their isolation a bond grows…one that shuts them out from the world, and contains them into safety.
The film has a methodical yet primitive beat to it. Without bondage, it feels sexually bound, each tight camera shot, each hand hold, each facial stare, and soon we understand their vulnerabilities. In a peach-pie making scene it could have come off pathetic, destined for an SNL skit, but instead it’s contained….even reminiscent of the pottery scene in Ghost yet far more mature, and as ripened, as the peaches they’re dicing.
But it’s through the innocence of Henry that we follow the tale….Henry….all at once helpless yet hopeful his mother has found true love. The downside is that while his acting is superb, his range is limited. Purposely.
Winslet is a damaged woman similar to her role in Revolutionary Road. A ‘stuck’ woman. Brolin is a softer performance than we’re used to , or at least not since his performance in No Country for Old Men.
While some of the ending might be over-the-top, there is something relateable to anyone who has ever loved or longed so desperately to be saved from sadness….someone wanting to be rescued from the betrayal of scorned love. It’s a film for anyone who’s harbored secrets and pasts…for anyone in love with love, this is a film about what might have been and what still could be…♕ ♚ ♛