Review of Freedomland (2006) by Laura P — 15 Jul 2007

Freedomland begins in a housing project in N.J. Detective Lorenzo Council (Samuel L. Jackson) is establishing his character as a "policeman of the projects." Brenda Martin (Julianne Moore) enters a hospital with blood stained hands.

Martin claims that she was jacked by a "black man" and that was it. She is clean for five years (in recovery) and actually works in the projects. She claims that had been heading back to the projects to retrieve her glasses.

This was late in the evening-around 11 pm or so. As Council pushes her she gives up that her son was in the back of the car when it was jacked. It comes out that Brenda's Brother, Danny Martin (Ron Eldard)is on the force.

You can see where this is going. Racial tension swarms, the cops shut down the projects, a hunt ensues. All of the subplots about Brenda's life, race riots, recovery, single parenting, kidnapping.

..they are all there, but NONE fleshed out well at all. Everything gets summed up within a scene or a monologue. This movie begged a lot of questions, but addressed very few leaving poorly drawn conclusions to drawn out conflict.

You see the ending coming a mile away. You know what happened from the get go, but they keep circling around through different lines that only intersect when it is convenient to the what is happening at that moment.

It might have been more poignant to get there and hit it hard. Jackson is the best thing about this movie, but he was far from his best. Moore is in a haze, but...to what end? The racial tension issue was left pretty untouched save for a few scenes and I think that was a really important part of the movie.

This had the makings...it just did not make it.