I usually don’t write in first person. As a reporter and editor, it’s better to let those I interview tell the story and I simply serve as the conduit. However, a chance to review a movie and speak to the author of the source material for said movie, I figured I could not only share my ideas, but the brief roundtable interview with the author.
Maynard came in to help promote the movie Labor Day, based on her 2009 book of the same title. On Jan. 21, Maynard, movie critics, members of book clubs and members of the Kansas City Women in Film and Television watched the film, directed by Jason Reitman, director of quirky films such as Young Adult, Up in the Air, Juno and Thank You for Smoking. The film is set in 1987 a few days before Labor Day.
Here is the basic premise … With the end of summer closing in and a steamy Labor Day weekend looming in the town of Holton Mills, New Hampshire, 13-year-old Henry spends most of his time watching television, reading, and daydreaming about his female classmates. For company Henry has his long-divorced mother, Adele — a onetime dancer whose summer project was to teach him how to Foxtrot; his hamster, Joe; and awkward Saturday-night outings to Friendly’s with his estranged father and new stepfamily. As much as he tries, Henry knows that even with his jokes and his “Husband for a Day” coupon book, he still can’t make his emotionally fragile mother happy. Adele has a secret that makes it hard for her to leave their house, and seems to possess an irreparably broken heart.
But all that changes on the Thursday before Labor Day, when a mysterious bleeding man named Frank approaches Henry and asks for a hand. Over the next five days, Henry will learn some of life’s most valuable lessons including how to throw a baseball, perform minor home repairs, change a flat tire and worry about the love of his mother.
For me, the movie and the book are paced slowly, like humidity dripping lazily in the early September air. It is not fast-paced. There are no explosions or radical shifts of movement. It’s a film that is paced like a book – gentle and slow as a summer heat hanging in the late summer sky. To me, both the book and the film move like Bridges of Madison County. Remember that one about the freelance photographer who happens upon the unfulfilled life of an Italian born Iowa housewife and the two find passion in many things?
Maynard has been a published writer for more than 40 years and has never visited Kansas City on a book tour or film junket. Her book, To Die For, was adapted for film in 1995. During the roundtable, Maynard spoke on many topics from the choice of language to making pies. In the book and in the film, there is no swearing. “I felt no need,” she says. “I understand the power of language. I was raised by people who love language. The joy is rediscovering language and not turning toward the world-weary nature.”
However, the topic of sex for the 13-year-old lead character is not without its conversation. “I believe in talking about the difficult things. This might be about what occurs in the bedroom.” The idea that the story is told from the teenager’s point of view rather than the mother or Frank is important. We experience the world from his side of the wall.”
Of course, the other thing that Henry learns and carries with him into adulthood is how to make pies, thanks to Frank. Pie making has never been so sexy until you see it in the hands of Josh Brolin and Kate Winslet. It’s sweet as the three make a peach pie. If anyone is interested, Maynard shares her pie-making skills, and they are substantial, on http://curious.com/joycemaynard/joyce-maynards-homemade-apple-pie. If you make a pie following her directions, Maynard likes to see the results.
The actor, Gattlin Griffith, is a terrific Henry with incredibly expressive eyes and a soulful interpretation of this teenage boy. He provides the sympathy that you want him to offer his mother, but he still has some definitive teenage boy traits.
Maynard, as a single mother of three children, understands raising boys. While she didn’t struggle with depression as Adele, the mother in the movie, she raised two sons and one daughter. “In the novel as well as the movie, the child is responsible for a parent. Of course, one of my sons did make me a ‘Husband for the Day’ booklet of coupons. I realized that I can only be one parent, I can’t be both. There is a space that needs to be filled.”
“I have always admired good writing and the first person I write for is me,” she says. “I don’t want to write fairy tales, but I am a romantic mixed with being an idealist.” Within the book and the film, Adele, the main female character, deals with depression that stems from an incredible trauma and women’s health issues. I asked her how she understood the circumstances so well. “Readers tell me stories. I have fans all over this country and people tell me their personal tales. Some of the stories are intimate. Perhaps it is healing to share with a friend who you know through her writing. I know it can be painful, but I am honored they share stories with me. For audience members and readers, it’s healing to get to cry.” And I did cry.
Before the novel had even been printed, Reitman had read the galleys, the proofs before final printing, and called Maynard to tell her how much he loved the novel. “He said it made him cry. He told me that he wanted to make my book into a film,” she says. “I trusted him because of his films and once you entrust a director, you step away.” Reitman not only directed, but he wrote the screenplay based on Maynard’s work.
So should you see this movie? Yes, as one who grew up in the 1980s, I appreciated the look back. I also cherish good storytelling. Sure, I like escapism, but this is a sweeter and gentler escapism.
