Freeheld

Homosexual people are normal.

I know that there are still people, who won´t agree with me on this. Some say it is a sin, some say it is sickening. Some even say that this is not human behavior. From my view, i see homosexuals as positive people, who make this world a better place. So if anyone would mess with my homosexual family members, they will hopefully regret what they say. I think many people need to be more open minded, because homosexuality have been around since humans were created. What did you think happened in Rome, when the soldiers relaxed after all the epic battles in bath houses ? They were most likely rubbing each other, with more than two thumbs. By the way, if you want to hear someone talk about homosexuals, turn into Bryan Fischer on his radio show Focal Point with Bryan Fischer. He says he is against homosexuals, but speak so much about them, all the time, i have a feeling he is coming out of the closet soon. Many films have taken on the subject of homosexuality. One of the best films, that i highly recommend, is a film called Pride. A british drama comedy, about a group of lesbian and gay activists, who raised money for families, who were affected by the British Miners Strike in 1984. A really heart warming film, based on a true story, and acting so good, i had a really good time watching this film. Another really good film i recommend, is the drama comedy The Kids Are All Right. Annette Bening and Julianne Moore as a lesbian couple, did wonderful performances. Speaking of Julianne Moore, if you have not seen her brilliant performance in Still Alice, you need to run down and rent it tonight. This is one of the best performances i have ever seen Julianne Moore done, in a motion picture. She really deserved the Oscar statue she won. She have always managed to do all kinds of characters, tried many different genre films. And i have a feeling she will continue to give us quality films in the future. About 6 months ago, while reading about upcoming movies, i came across the title of Freeheld. I started looking deeper into the plot, and found out a really interesting cast list. Julianne Moore, Ellen Page, Michael Shannon and Steve Carell. Also, the plot is based on the true story, of police officer Laurel Hester. With such a powerful cast, and a true story, is this one of those films that will impact you personally, or is the message not as strong as it could have been ?

Police officer Laurel Hester ( Julianne Moore ) works really hard to serve and protect. She is respected, and she always do her best together with partner Dane Wells ( Michael Shannon ). While playing a volleyball game, Laurel meets Stacie Andree ( Ellen Paige ). They decide to date at a local gay bar. It seems to start so well, but Laurel can not tell anyone she is a lesbian at work. She is afraid that she might loose her job, because not everyone appreciate homosexuals. Laurel and Stacie decides to move in together, buying a house. Suddenly, their dreams change, when Laurel finds out she is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Stacie is not leaving Laurel, and beg her to fight this disease. Laurel want to make sure, that if anything happens to her, Stacie get her pension benefits. Since Stacie is the domestic partner of Laurel, she should have the same rights as anyone else. Dane, long time working partner of Laurel, refuse to give up. He suggest that she should fight against the New Jersey Board Of Chosen Freeholders. Laurel is about to take on the hardest fight of her life, and she have nothing to loose.

There is no doubt that this is the right cast, for an important film like this. Knowing that this actually happened, makes a very big difference. It must have been hard to struggle for Laurel Hester, both with cancer, and also to make sure that her partner get the pension benefits. On one side you are fighting a diagnose like every other cancer patient, but also fighting for your own rights to choose. I have not seen the documentary Freeheld, released in 2007. Now i know i should have seen the documentary first. This film is a movie adaptation on the true story, that was told in the documentary film. And i have to say that the main performances, by Julianne Moore and Ellen Page, fit really well together on screen. There is a big age difference, obviously, but that does not effect the message in any way. One of the things that this film manage to do, is show you how ordinary Laurel Hester was. Just because she was a lesbian, does not mean that she was different towards people, or her working collegues. She worked hard as an police officer, trying to do things right. The most sad part, was that she felt that she have to hide her sexuality. Other performances are also good, especially from Michael Shannon. He have always been an actor, who knows how to make characters feel realistic. Steve Carell also manage to give us a nice performance, as he is trying to fight for the rights of Laurel Hester. Director Peter Sollett may be most known for his film Nick And Norah´s Infinite Playlist. He have also directed episodes for different tv series. Freeheld is in my opinion his best film so far, as an director. This film brings up very important issues, especially that homosexuals have the same rights as straight people. Julianne Moore proves once again, that she is one of the best actors out there. This may not be her best performance so far, but it is powerful. Freeheld will make you react, and realise that equal rights have a long way to go. It is legal for homosexuals to be married in America, but there are still many issues to be changed. At least we can all get the best advices from Pat Robertsson, is there anything this man does not know ? I doubt it.

Rating: DDD