In 1987, a bleeding man (Josh Brolin) on the run forces a depressed single mom (Kate Winslet) and her 13-year-old son (Gattlin Griffith) to take him home to their house to hide from the police. This set-up turns romantic so fast that there’s no chance we’ll believe in it; of course, the fugitive is a hunk who knows how to bake cakes and fix things around the house. The film never fully recovers from this silliness, which is a shame since it’s a dark story with intriguing flashbacks revealing how Frank and Adele ended up where they are. Good performances are wasted.

2013-U.S. 111 min. Color. Widescreen. Written and directed by Jason Reitman. Novel: Joyce Maynard. Cast: Kate Winslet (Adele Wheeler), Josh Brolin (Frank Chambers), Gattlin Griffith (Henry Wheeler), Tobey Maguire, Clark Gregg, J.K. Simmons.

IMDb