Reel Reviews: Stay off the train to ‘Freedomland’
I think the way I feel about this film is how various professors feel when one of their most talented students fails to reach their potential. “Freedomland” has a lot of potential. But the all-star cast and compelling concept are just not enough to keep this film from falling short.
Julianne Moore (“Far From Heaven”) plays a mentally frazzled single mother who becomes an unsuspecting victim of a car jacking. What is even worse than this crime is that her son was left in the backseat of her car. A rigorous investigation begins to find the 4-year-old boy and racial tensions are heightened when an African-American man from the projects is blamed for the crime. Samuel L. Jackson (“Coach Carter”) plays the token good-hearted cop who becomes divided over his professional ethics versus his urge to bend the rules. As Jackson helps the shaky mother to piece the truth together, things get fishy and he soon discovers that the reality of the crime is worse than expected.
This film has the potential to say so much about our world and the societal boundaries that we create. But it doesn’t. It merely touches on an assortment of themes and ideas, making the film look unorganized as a whole. What is the primary message coming from this film? We are never told. Perhaps we are expected to reach into this stew of thoughts and pick our favorite. However, nobody is encouraged to reach in to this stew simply because it tastes so bland.
Based on Richard Price’s novel of the same title, it was a bad idea having him adapt his work into a screenplay. The story’s progression from scene to scene was far from seamless and a lot of the dialogue appeared clunky and ill-fitting. We realize that a mystery compels viewers to figure out the truth for themselves. But it’s really annoying when you feel like you have to figure out the entire film. This problem with the writing is perhaps the most lacking ingredient that this film suffers from.
Edie Falco (“The Sopranos”) leads a mediocre supporting cast as a tough-as-nails missing persons investigator. And Moore and Jackson exhibit convincing integrity through their performances. But the screenplay gives them so little to work with that they seem uncomfortable with the dialogue and nobody really gets a chance to nestle into their characters (except maybe Moore). There is no chemistry between anyone and there are even times when the dialogue appears to be improvised because it is lacking a concrete direction so badly.
“Freedomland” is the first mystery/drama film from director Joe Roth (“America’s Sweethearts”), so I guess we shouldn’t have expected too much from a director who is so comparatively inexperienced. With no defined thematic path, a series of events that are weakly connected, and a boat load of unnecessary language, “Freedomland” inspires thoughts of limitation rather than liberty. Fans of the mystery genre are likely to leave the theater without the satisfaction you get from a riveting story or fascinating characters.
Casey T. Allen is a critic for the Utah Statesman. Comments can be sent to caseyal@cc.usu.edu.