“The only thing I care about is justice for the woman I love.“
Freeheld is a film that is based on true events which has demanded attention since it announced its lead stars Julianne Moore and Elliot Page. It tells the story of Laurel Hester, a police officer in Ocean County, New Jersey, who is eventually diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and struggles to get her pension benefits passed onto her domestic partner Stacie Andree so she can continue to live in their home after Hester has passed.
Freeheld has come at a good time since the legalisation of gay marriage across America and Page coming out as a lesbian, which has allowed her the freedom to be able to play a gay character comfortably.
The film focuses primarily on the story with no special focus on how it was made, jumping remarkably into the full story shortly after we see Laurel (Moore) and Stacie (Page) meeting for the first time. Although there is romantic chemistry between the pair which is seen throughout the film, the writer did not give enough time for us to see their relationship develop.
The freeholders in the film are excellent in their acting ability; to stand to their own beliefs of selfishness, inequality and going by the book. They create the perfect amount of uproar which demands anger and frustration from not only the other characters but the audience watching. The people they portray have views that reflect real people both then and now.
Page was gloriously cast, she played the perfect part and portrayed the perfect character. Whilst she did not appear on screen as much as her costar Moore, Page grabbed the attention immaculately whenever we caught a glimpse. Towards the end of the film, her little speech was moving and full of emotion.
Whilst it strikes me as odd seeing Page and Moore together, there is no denying that Moore did not live up to standards. However, at age 55, the light blonde wig and makeup choice seemed to have aged Moore unnecessarily and did not come off as very flattering. The choice was assumbably to help Moore like similar to the real life Laurel Hester.
Other casting seems accurate such as Michael Shannon in the role of a hard ass cop who is also Laurel’s partner. However, one role saw Steve Carell playing a very stereotypical gay man, who also works as a gay rights activist which seemed entirely miscast and did not help to redeem any negative points regarding the film.
Freeheld is a truly heartbreaking story that the critics seem to have panned too harshly only to be revealed as straight white men themselves, almost matching up to the dismay of the freeholders within the film.
Although the film jumps to the point too quickly, it offers a mostly talented cast and a story that needed to be told. Also, I cried like a bitch at the end.
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