Freedomland
is in the grand tradition of forgettable dramas like John Q and The Life of David
Gale. As was the case with the previous mentioned titles, this is a film that
reaches for profound greatness, but gets lost in a sea of over the top melodrama.
Julianne
Moore is Brenda Martin, a lonely, troubled soul with a reckless past. One evening,
she wanders into a New Jersey police station and tells the authorities that she
was car jacked by a black man after taking a wrong turn into a seedy part of the
city. Veteran cop Lorenzo Council, takes her statement and is horrified when Brenda
suddenly reveals that her young son was in the back seat of the car. Almost immediately,
a search party is assembled and dispatched to locate the helpless young boy. This
whole scenario does not sit well with majority of the people of color who reside
in this part of the city. They feel that too much effort is exhausted in finding
this missing white child, when the numerous local crimes (including murder) involving
victims of color in the area go virtually uninvestigated and are rarely solved.
Freedomland
is extremely convoluted and goes in numerous directions. As Lorenzo continues
to work the case, he begins to have serious questions about Brenda’s sanity,
and before long, he discovers he isn’t the only one trying to get to the
bottom of this tragic and volatile situation. Lorenzo soon realizes that he’s
being trailed by a vigilante group of activists comprised of women who’ve
been involved in other missing children cases. What’s more, Brenda’s
brother Danny (who just so happens to be a cop) starts sniffing around making
Lorenzo’s job all the more tough. Throw in brewing (and cliched) racial tension
amongst the locals (a scenario that worked to much stronger effect in the underrated
Dark Blue), and you have one big mess of a movie.
Last
year, I raved about Paul Haggis’ Crash, a picture that was met with incredible
backlash in several circles. Many proclaimed that film to be racist and chalk
full of stereotypes. While I whole heartedly disagree with those misguided opinions,
I certainly would attach those very sentiments to Freedomland. (Crash, in my opinion,
is a complex study into our perception of race, and what’s more – it’s
a stunning, unpredictable look into human nature - Freedomland by contrast, attempts
to expose the truth, amid similar issues with all the subtlety of a backhoe ).
The
title of the picture refers to a dilapidated old structure that was once an orphanage
of sorts, with a rumored history of horror and abuse. The condemned old brick
ruin comes into play, but it’s completely arbitrary as is most of what’s
going on in this picture. Most of the characters in Freedomland do and say things
with questionable motivation, and the film becomes increasingly frustrating as
it sluggishly stumbles from one labored scene to the next.
Julianne
Moore has played similar roles before (most recently in the cheesy X-Files inspired
thriller The Forgotten). In Freedomland, she’s weepy and lost, and while
I give this splendid actress props for her willingness to play such an unglamorous,
flawed human being, she too often overplays the part with her overwrought hysterics.
Samuel L. Jackson (looking like an urban Popeye Doyle) is an effortless, commanding
screen presence, and it’s nice to see him in top form (I hate seeing him
in crap like The Man), but even he can’t rise above the screenplay’s
shortcomings and Joe Roth’s weak and uninspired direction. For instance,
watch for his laughable, over the top asthma attack after he learns that Brenda’s
boy was still in the car when it was taken. I suppose it’s unfair to point
out such a moment, because for the most part, Jackson is solid here, but this
movie is so void of intrigue and anything remotely resembling credible drama,
that the previously mentioned moments really stick out like a sore thumb. Ron
Eldard is a blank as Brenda’s meddling brother. His character doesn’t
really serve a purpose. He’s just a pointless source of contention in the
film. Edie Falco has a few powerful moments as an activist who bonds with Brenda
in an attempt to get her boy back, but overall, even her dialogue is stilted and
unconvincing.
Freedomland
is terribly written. It has characters doing and saying things to get an obvious
rise out of the audience, and what few revelations it does have to offer, feel
completely ingenuine. Take for instance a pivotal sequence in which a massive
search party begins to sweep the area around the “Freedomland” building,
looking for Brenda’s son. There is motivation for this sequence, but it’s
just ridiculously unrealistic. Why? To go there would ruin a major plot point,
but I will say that as I watched this nonsense, I was shaking my head in disbelief.
Joe
Roth (a one time studio head) has poor instincts as a director. When Freedomland
isn’t completely heavy handed, and painfully over directed, it’s downright
dull. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. After all, Roth did direct the dismal
Christmas With the Kranks. He’s also responsible for that lame Hollywood
satire America’s Sweethearts with John Cusack and Julia Roberts. Once again,
he is blessed with a big time pedigree cast and once again, he fails to utilize
his talent properly. The so -called bond that develops between Brenda and Lorenzo
is poorly realized, and the end of the picture -- in which we realize these two
characters have something in common -- is just an insult to the intelligence of
the audience. It rings so false that I can’t imagine anyone buying into it.
I
really disliked this movie immensely. I hate seeing terrific actors wasted in
convoluted junk like this. Freedomland is a picture that is far less profound
than it thinks it is. It has unnecessary characters, over the top political grandstanding,
and a stodgy pace. Add to this a plot ripped from the “Susan Smith”
case from a few years back, and you have a recipe for disaster. If a stronger,
more assured director would have been at the helm, Freedomland might have been
an effective drama. As it stands, it’s as unsteady and ramshackle as the
crumbling mess it’s named for.
