Review of Freedomland (2006) by Layla W — 03 Jun 2008

Brenda Martin (Julianne Moore, Far From Heaven) walks into an emergency room in a rough part of town with her hands covered in blood. She has just been carjacked and Detective Lorenzo Council (Samuel L.

Jackson, Pulp Fiction) is the investigator assigned to her case. When Council learns that her son was in the car and is now missing, the case explodes. The case intensifies once racial overtones are introduced.

Martin reports that the carjacker is a black man. The predominantly black residents of the housing project where the crime occurred become more agitated as hours pass and the (mostly white) police presence increases.

Just as in real life, a missing white kid is big news while missing children of color do not seem as important. For every Natalie Holloway or Elizabeth Smart that consumes cable news, there is a missing child of color whom you never hear about.

This racial dichotomy is the most interesting aspect of the plot. Samuel L. Jackson can always be counted on to bring a forceful and riveting character to life. Jackson's performance alone raises the level of the material.

Julianne Moore's near constant hysteria is hit-and-miss. Her hysteria certainly seems warranted by the situation, but her overlong monologues belie the fact that she is an actor swinging for the fences.

The story has a "ripped from the headlines" feel and, indeed, strongly resembles an infamous case that made national headlines. In the film?s defense, a mystery is only as good as its ever unpeeling layers, and it?s here that Freedomland saves face with mixed results.

In the final, overlong stretch, when the black community becomes more confrontational with a Gannon Police force ready for a rumble, Brenda begins to unravel the mystery for us all. There's a lot here to admire, and everyone who doesn't live it needs the refresher on American race relations that Freedomland offers, but it's hard to come away from a viewing with anything other than despair.