Freeheld
Short description
Freeheld is a drama based on a true story from New Jersey in the 2000s. Laurel Hester is a decorated police detective who is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. She wants to leave her pension to her partner, Stacie Andree, a car mechanic, so that Stacie will be provided for after her death. The county officials refuse the request, and Laurel and Stacie begin a public fight to have the pension transferred. Laurel's former colleague Dane Wells and the activist Steven Goldstein help rally support for their cause as Laurel's health declines.
Peter Sollett directed the film, which sits between Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and Metal Lords in his filmography. Ron Nyswaner wrote the screenplay, and Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher and Julie Goldstein produced. Julianne Moore plays Laurel Hester and Elliot Page plays Stacie Andree, with Steve Carell, Michael Shannon, Luke Grimes and Josh Charles in supporting roles. Thirty cast members and 47 crew members are credited.
The film was made for about 7 million dollars. On IMDb it holds a rating of 6.6 from around 14,000 votes, while on TMDB it has a rating of 7.2 from 681 votes. A film critics' rating of 5.6 from 136 reviews places it below both audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival less than three months after the U.S. Supreme Court passed a law recognizing same-sex marriage nationwide. "The premiere was timely, though not intentionally so," says Julianne Moore, who plays Laurel. "The film is a wonderful example of how far we've come in these 10 years, but how awful things were just a few years ago."
- A Catholic boys' school in New Rochelle, New York, refused to provide a location for filming a scene from the movie due to the dialogue in that scene and their religious views on homosexuality.
- Julianne Moore spent a lot of time researching the role of Laurel Hester. She began with the identically titled documentary film by director Cynthia Wade, which won an Oscar for Best Short Documentary in 2008. "There's a lot of footage of Laurel in the film, and Cynthia shared all the transcripts with me," says the actress. "Stacy Andrese was also incredibly generous. She still lives in the same house she lived in with Laurel. She dug up boxes of photos and showed me newspaper clippings."
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