'FREEHELD': Five Stars (Out of Five)A low-budget drama flick; based on the Oscar winning 2007 documentary short film (of the same name), by filmmaker Cynthia Wade. It tells the story of a veteran New Jersey police officer, named Laurel Hester, and her struggle to pass on her pension benefits, to her life partner Stacie Andree; after Laurel was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The movie stars Julianne Moore, Ellen Page, Michael Shannon and Steve Carell; Page also served as a producer on the film. It was directed by Peter Sollett (who also helmed 2008's 'NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST' and 2002's 'RAISING VICTOR VARGAS') and it was scripted by Ron Nyswaner (who also wrote 1993's acclaimed gay rights-courtroom drama flick 'PHILADELPHIA'). I absolutely love this film!Laurel Hester (Moore) was a police officer, in Ocean County, New Jersey, for 23-years. Then she was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. She attempted, many times, to pass on her pension benefits; to her domestic partner, Stacie Andree (Page), but failed. Laurel got a lot of support, in her battle; from Stacie, her partner Dane Wells (Shannon) and (the founder of Garden State Equality) Steve Goldstein (Carell). Many more, also rose to the occasion; to help Laurel. The movie starts out as a very touching romance, then it changes to a tragic cancer battle story, and then it concludes as a very passionate courtroom drama flick! The movie works, on all three fronts; and it works very well. The directing is superb, the story is very moving, and the performances are all phenomenal. Moore and Page are great, in the first half of the film, then they take a little bit of a backseat to Shannon (who is fantastic in the movie as well). Carell is also hilarious comic relief. The movie works, in all ways, but it's especially inspiring; and it's also (definitely) a good tearjerker.Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://youtu.be/A1MyBFioKXM

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.

Wow. Just wow. This film truly did affect me in such an undeniable way. Freeheld is based on a true story that might have already heard of. This movie tells the incredible true story of Laurel Hester and Stacey Andree, two woman in a romantic relationship together. They are together for probably about a year before actually buying and renovating a house to live in. And they do fix it up quite beautifully and live in it for a good while, having a domestic partnership agreement. But when Laurel complains of a pulled muscle, Stacee gets a little worried and has her go to the doctor and have it checked out. When laurel gets her doctor report back, she is informed that she does in fact have stage 4 lung cancer. Laurel's one last simple wish is that her pension will go to Stacee, just like all her other heterosexual co-workers have theirs go to their opposite sex spouses. The freeholders of ocean county deny her request, mainly because it's a pretty conservative town, and it makes them feel uncomfortable. Let me just say that Julianne Moore is freaking amazing as laurel Hester, she really just embodies the role and really shines in it! Also Ellen page, who just came out as a lesbian herself about a year ago, is awesome as Stacee Andree, she really gave it her all! Also both of them have such amazing chemistry in the film, you can feel the undeniable love and affection they have for one another. When they kiss on screen, it's almost electric. The love portrayed in the film is just so beautiful and touching. Also, the script and dialogue is very well written and engaging. Steve carrel really did his role justice as well, he was awesome too. The rest of the cast really did a great job as well, they all really had obvious zeal and passion for this revolutionary project. I'm so glad that the filmmakers did this moving true story justice when they adapted it to the big screen. I 100% suggest Freeheld! 10/10. Go rent it today.

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.