Freeheld, un amor incondicional

Not long ago I saw 'Carol', thankfully it is not another that and better than that. It was based on the documentary short of the same name about a real life same sex couple who fought for the equal rights and the pension benefits, while one of them was treated for cancer. It is a great drama about fighting for justice than the romance as it states, but that part as well very impressive.

Ellen Page and Julianne Moore, both were awesome, except Moore was a bit old. By seeing them I felt being a lesbian is sweetest than straight, hetero and even gay. The first half was all about the relationship, but very decently narrated romance tale. And in the next half once Steve Carell enters the scene, the film diverted to another side of the story. All the actors were very good, including Michael Shannon.

Obviously the story was predictable and that is expected often in a biography. Because if they want to alter it, then they should pen a very cleverest script the audience never saw one like that before. I think telling a true story as it is is the point and that's what this filmmaker did. So don't complain about the storyline, just consider whether it is inspiring or worth a watch for other reasons.

For me it was almost a sentimental piece, but the second half story compromised and then I realised what this film was trying to say. Underrated film of the year for sure. Anytime I suggest it, especially for the grown ups and with a neutral mindset, because it is not all about the same sex romance, but the battle for equality in society.

8/10

Greetings from Lithuania.

"Freeheld" (2015) is a movie based on a very real story. I won't go into plot details, but this is kinda inspirational story. The lead performance by Julianne Moore is great - you won't expect anything less from this caliber Oscar winner, and she delivers it. Movie itself isn't bad by any means, at running time 1 h 40 min it wasn't boring and i watched it in one sit, and that is not a bad sign. But movie-making wasn't original or exciting and etc. This is a very averagely told story, with any emotional deep (script lacks of it) or anything else for what i could remember this movie for longer then one day after i finished it.

Overall, "Freeheld" is very watchable movie with no lasting impression. There are many well known faces in this movie, but they don't have much to do, script is very flat and predictable, directing is very simple. This is OK movie for one evening.

This film tells the story of a well respected and very competent police officer in New Jersey, who fights against the county to give her pension to her partner after she is diagnosed with terminal cancer.

It is really beyond me that "Freeheld" is not getting any award nominations. It is way more touching, captivating and engrossing than the other film that is getting a lot of attention. Julianne Moore is superb in the film. Steve Carell is very good as well, he is likable as the flamboyant activist. The story is so touching that I literally kept reaching out for tissues to wipe my tears and blow my nose. I thoroughly enjoyed the film!

Based on a true story and a 2008 Academy Award winning short documentary with the same title, Freeheld is a heart-wrenching and uplifting drama about a same-sex couple's relentless pursuit of love, justice and equality.

When a veteran police officer Laurel Hester is diagnosed with terminal cancer, all she wants to do is leave her pension benefits to her life partner, Stacie, so that she can afford to keep their house. Laurel is told no since they are not husband and wife. After spending a lifetime fighting for justice for other people, Laurel launches a final battle for justice for the love of her life.

The story is told in a straightforward manner. The first half of the film focuses on depicting Laurel as a dedicated police officer who dreads her colleagues finding out that she is a lesbian and as an average human being who longs for love and strives to start a family with "a house, a dog and a woman she loves". In a homophobic workplace, LGBTI people have to hide and lie since coming out of the closet makes them targets of bullying and affects their promotion. Apprehensive and timorous, Laurel can never truly be herself. The second half of the film focuses on the couple's brave but bitter fight against not only cancer, but also tradition, prejudice, ignorance and inequality, luckily and touchingly with the help of Laurel's colleague, a gay rights activist, the couple's friends and family members. Although some people criticize the first half of the film for being insipid, the director's refusal to resort to sentimentality is greatly appreciated. Instead of making a tear-jerker with clichés sugar-coating and praising effusively the greatness of homosexual love, the director creates life-like characters the audience care about and shows genuinely the love between Laurel and Stacie, which accurately echos the nature of the global fight for LGBTI rights. It can be summarized by what Laurel says in the movie – "I've never asked for special treatment. I'm only asking for equality." True love is beautiful and precious, be it heterosexual or homosexual.

Religion is a major reason why some freeholders say no to Laurel's request. In the movie, a priest reminds us that Jesus himself says nothing about homosexuality in the bible. Most of the proscriptions against homosexuality come from the Old Testament, which does mention homosexuality as an abomination, yet if one had actually read the Bible, one would have noticed that the same book of Leviticus also considers eating shellfish, or wearing clothing of two fabrics, an abomination. Some religious people blindly believe in what their churches advocate and apply double standard. Now, let's assume a particular religion is against homosexuality. Should religion and state be separate? For example, it is well known that Pope John Paul II was against artificial birth control. Should there be a law prohibiting citizens from using condoms? If Buddhists deemed it wrong to kill animals, should the government make eating meat illegal? If homosexuals cannot get married just because it goes against your religion, you cannot have cookies because I'm on diet. It seems that some pious people are not aware of a fact that marriage is a legal system which does not belong to a particular religion. While freedom of religion should be totally respected, it is unacceptable to impose religious beliefs on both the legal system and non-believers. Indeed, the overarching theme of the Bible is love. Mother Teresa is right. "If you judge people, you have no time to love them".

The ensemble cast is capable. Julianne Moore and Ellen Page are phenomenal. Their facial expressions and body language can effectively convey the characters' emotions. In the movie, we do not see the actresses. Instead, we see an ailing police officer and a car mechanic truly loving each other and fighting together against cancer and inequality. Michael Shannon also delivers a very convincing performance. His character is a "straight, white, ex-Protestant, atheist cop". The wholehearted support he has given Laurel is sincere and moving. Steve Carell, who plays the gay rights activist, adds comic relief to this knuckle-biting and heartbreaking journey. His performance in Foxcatcher is beyond compare though.

Love is love. LGBTI people "deserve to experience love fully, equally, without shame and without compromise." Like Suffragette, Freeheld is an important film that needs to be seen. Never take human rights for granted. Let's speak out against injustice courageously, in the name of love.

Ten years before same sex marriage became legal in this country, a police detective from Ocean County New Jersey (played by Julianne Moore) fights for the rights of her domestic partner (played by Ellen Page) to receive her police pension before she dies of lung cancer.

The movie does have everything, as it goes over the life of Laurel Hester. It starts out as a police drama, as we watch Hester and her partner (on the force)Dane Wells tracked down a murderer. We see how good of a cop she is and how much that means to the community. Then it becomes a romance, as Hester meets Stacie and the two start a lovely relationship, slightly tainted by the fact Hester, a "woman in a man's field" wants and needs to keep her personal life a secret even from the work husband relationship she has with detective Wells. Than it's a political drama as Hester has no choice but to become the poster child for same sex marriage as she fights for what is owed to her and what is best for the one she loves.

Yeah, the movie is laid out perfectly, pushing all the right buttons that get liberals all worked up, and filled with note worthy dialog to try to convince the unconvinced of the cause they are presenting. They show you how the other half feels about the topic, but then they visually beat you over the head with little trivial items that show how old white men are too stubborn and set in their ways (my favorite was one of the Freeholders that would decide about the benefits is wearing a small but noticeable cross as a pin on his suit)

I feel the movie may have depended too much on their facts, and when it came to their opinion, they did a lackluster job of showing emotion. Julianne Moore is a great actress and the movie has that going for it. Ellen Page also gives a nice performance especially when she shares a scene with Moore. Micheal Shannon is a far better actor than this movie gives him credit for. I feel that they could have done more with him, but his only real acting spar was Steve Carrel, who played a Jewish lawyer that herd about the Hester case and brilliantly used it to get the point across for gay marriage.

It's a good movie, but it's only a good movie because they talk about a great topic. I would have like them to have done more with what they had and show more emotion about what's going on.