Freedomland (2006)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Joe Roth

Writers (WGA):

Richard Price (screenplay)
Richard Price (novel)

Release Date:

17 February 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

His Streets. His Rules.

Plot:

A black police detective must solve a strange case of a kidnapped boy and deal with a big racial protest.

Plot Keywords:

Box Office Flop | Missing Child | Riot | Kidnapping | Prison

Cast

Samuel L. Jackson	...	Lorenzo Council
Julianne Moore	...	Brenda Martin
Edie Falco	...	Karen Collucci
Ron Eldard	...	Danny Martin
William Forsythe	...	Boyle
Aunjanue Ellis	...	Felicia
Anthony Mackie	...	Billy Williams
LaTanya Richardson	...	Marie (as LaTanya Richardson Jackson)
Clarke Peters	...	Reverend Longway
Peter Friedman	...	Lt. Gold
Domenick Lombardozzi	...	Leo Sullivan
Aasif Mandvi	...	Dr. Anil Chatterjee
Philip Bosco	...	Priest
Fly Williams III	...	Rafik
Portia	...	Doreen / Rafik's Sister

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some violent content.

Runtime:

113 min | Philippines:112 min (cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

Italian | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:15 | Ireland:15A | Australia:M | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:11 | Finland:K-15 | USA:R (certificate #41466) | Australia:MA (DVD rating) | Philippines:PG-13 | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Revolution Studios

Trivia:

Michael Winterbottom was the original director and did extensive work before leaving this project.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The scenes at the Freedomland facility appear to be in late fall/winter -- trees are bare, subjects are wearing heavy clothing. When Lorenzo interviews Brenda, he states on the tape recorder the date of the interview is May.

Quotes:

Karen Collucci: [talking to Brenda] Just nod your head.

Movie Connections:

Features "Wheel of Fortune" (1975)

Two strong performances can't save this weak melodrama

Detective Lorenzo Council (Samuel Jackson) must separate the truth from the lies when a troubled woman (Julianne Moore) shows up at the emergency room claiming that a black man from the projects carjacked her, taking her 4-year-old son, who was sleeping in the back seat.

Freedomland is a disappointing film that fails to take advantage of its talented cast and intriguing premise. The movie fails because Joe Roth is a terrible director. He tries to handle a bunch of different issues and he just doesn't mix them very well. He also introduces different characters and subplots but he doesn't build on them. Also, for a movie tackling serious issues, it was pretty unrealistic. The whole lock-down scenario was completely over the top and unnecessary. The kidnapping story had a bunch of holes and the way the cops handled the situation was pretty irresponsible. All the characters were stereotypes and most of them were unlikable. There were a lot of scenes dealing with racism but the film never actually dealt with them or settled them. The ending was total letdown and very little was actually settled, making the whole movie experience pointless.

The acting is the film's only strong point with Samuel L. Jackson giving the best performance. His performance felt a little familiar but it was still effective and his emotions never felt forced. Julianne Moore went completely over the top with her performance. She was annoying and completely unrealistic. Also, it was hard to feel sorry for her character because she was so unlikable and her actions were just terrible. Edie Falco came out of nowhere and she gave a pretty moving performance. She played the only likable character in the film and it was easy to feel sorry for her. The rest of the supporting actors were below average and no one else broke out.

Along with the acting, there were a few other good things about the film. There were a couple of engaging scenes that could have been better if the director had built on them. The script was also decent and it could have been turned into a good film. The movie also had an interesting style to it and at least it sort of engages the viewer. While the film was pretty messy, it held my attention until the end. Of course, the performances helped with that but the storyline had a chance to build. Unfortunately, it didn't and the movie ends with a whimper. In the end, Freedomland is an annoying melodrama with very few redeeming qualities. Rating 4/10