Released two weeks after premiering at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, Peter Sollet’s awards-baiting Lgbt drama Freeheld failed to command an Oscar campaign. Raking in just under six hundred thousand at the domestic office following a demure roll-out from distributor Lionsgate, this depiction of Laurel Hester’s 2005 fight for equality plays like a civil rights footnote eclipsed by more meaningful instances from the past decade. Despite some honorable performances from the likes of Julianne Moore and Michael Shannon (not to mention some woefully clichéd support from Steve Carrell), the film is fettered by its desperation to remain relevant and appealing, though it never captures the gravity clearly seen in Cynthia Wade’s documentary short, which provided the basis for this film.
As far as the importance of awareness and acceptance goes, these films are still important, now that some distance from the period allows the chance for significant introspection...
As far as the importance of awareness and acceptance goes, these films are still important, now that some distance from the period allows the chance for significant introspection...
- 2/2/2016
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
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