I have seen my share of bad movies. This one rates way, way, way down there. First off, it is misrepresented by the ads. The trailer makes it look like a supernatural thriller, recalling Moore's then recent (and also poor) release, The Forgotten. There are NO supernatural elements in this movie. If you expect any, **you will be disappointed.** Second, the performances left something to be desired. Especially Julianne Moore. I am not her biggest fan, but this was an especially poor performance on her part. She seemed to just be acting stoned or something. She would meander around the set, rock back and forth, and stare off into space when she was not babbling in a phony beyond belief accent. The rest of the cast does not come off much better. Motivations seem to shift wildly between scene transitions. Actions are taken from out of nowhere, without any logical progression.
I think the first problem is the script. This is based on a novel and apparently the story was a bit too complicated to bring to the screen. That is, the story is pretty straightforward and bone-simple. What made the book worth reading was how the author did it. That does not translate easily to the screen.
Probably the biggest flaw for me was the titular Freedomland. In the novel, Freedomland referred to an abandoned amusement park which was the scene of an extensive search as well as a reference to the people being locked into their own homes part of the plot (which was short changed IMO. The whole racial thing was there, but never explored or addressed, really. The whole movie, you were given reminders of the tension that was supposed to be building, but it never, ever pays off). In the movie, the name was transfered to some abandoned orphanage. Once again, the trailer leads us to believe falsely. The trailer made it sound like this Freedomland would somehow play a major role in the plot, like some dark secret was held here or something. That is not what happen. **SPOILERS** What happens is the detective and rescue volunteer seem to be thinking the mother had killed her child and took her there in a ploy to get her to confess. And it worked. **END SPOILERS** This, of course, makes no sense, but the seemingly random character actions are to blame.
Most of this can be blamed on the editing. Most screen actors would stink up the room if you use everything they do. It's the editor's job to make sure they use the best performances and cut the film so that character actions make sense, etc. This just didn't happen here. Freedomland may still have not been an especially good movie, but it could have been a lot less bad if the editing had been up to snuff.
On the plus side, I think Samuel L Jackson is wearing the same hat Gene Hackman wore in The French Connection.
I think the first problem is the script. This is based on a novel and apparently the story was a bit too complicated to bring to the screen. That is, the story is pretty straightforward and bone-simple. What made the book worth reading was how the author did it. That does not translate easily to the screen.
Probably the biggest flaw for me was the titular Freedomland. In the novel, Freedomland referred to an abandoned amusement park which was the scene of an extensive search as well as a reference to the people being locked into their own homes part of the plot (which was short changed IMO. The whole racial thing was there, but never explored or addressed, really. The whole movie, you were given reminders of the tension that was supposed to be building, but it never, ever pays off). In the movie, the name was transfered to some abandoned orphanage. Once again, the trailer leads us to believe falsely. The trailer made it sound like this Freedomland would somehow play a major role in the plot, like some dark secret was held here or something. That is not what happen. **SPOILERS** What happens is the detective and rescue volunteer seem to be thinking the mother had killed her child and took her there in a ploy to get her to confess. And it worked. **END SPOILERS** This, of course, makes no sense, but the seemingly random character actions are to blame.
Most of this can be blamed on the editing. Most screen actors would stink up the room if you use everything they do. It's the editor's job to make sure they use the best performances and cut the film so that character actions make sense, etc. This just didn't happen here. Freedomland may still have not been an especially good movie, but it could have been a lot less bad if the editing had been up to snuff.
On the plus side, I think Samuel L Jackson is wearing the same hat Gene Hackman wore in The French Connection.