''Freeheld'' is a 2015 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Peter Sollett Peter Sollett (born January 1, 1976) is an American film director and screenwriter known for his feature films '' Raising Victor Vargas'' (2002) and ''Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist'' (2008). Early life Sollett was born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn ...

and written by

Ron Nyswaner Ronald L. Nyswaner (born October 5, 1956) is an American screenwriter and film director. He has been nominated for numerous awards including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. He is known for his screenplays '' Smitheree ...

. The film stars

Julianne Moore Julie Anne Smith (born December 3, 1960), known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is particularly known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in independent films, a ...

Elliot Page Elliot Page (formerly Ellen Page; born February 21, 1987) is a Canadian actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Elliot Page, various accolades, including an Academy Award for Best Actress, Academy Award nomination, tw ...

Michael Shannon Michael Corbett Shannon (born August 7, 1974) is an American actor, producer, musician, and theater director. He is an off beat actor known for his on-screen versatility, performing in both comedies and dramas. He became known for his frequent ...

Steve Carell Steven John Carell (; born August 16, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He played Michael Scott (The Office), Michael Scott in ''The Office (American TV series), The Office'' (2005–2011; 2013), NBC’s adaptation of the The Office (B ...

, and

Luke Grimes Luke Timothy Grimes (born January 21, 1984) is an American actor. He is known for his role as real life Navy SEAL Marc Alan Lee in the acclaimed film ''American Sniper''. He played Christian Grey's brother, Elliot, in the film ''Fifty Shades of G ...

. It is based on the 2007 documentary short film of the same name about police officer

Laurel Hester Laurel Anne Hester (August 15, 1956 – February 18, 2006) was a police lieutenant with the Ocean County, New Jersey Prosecutor's Office, who came to national attention with her deathbed appeal for the extension of pension benefits to her domestic ...

's fight against the

Ocean County, New Jersey Ocean County is a county located along the Jersey Shore in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Its county seat is Toms River.Board of Chosen Freeholders In New Jersey, a Board of County Commissioners (until 2020 named the Board of Chosen Freeholders) is the elected county-wide government board in each of the state's 21 counties. In the five counties that have an elected county executive, the b ...

to allow her pension benefits to be transferred to her domestic partner after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Plot

The film is based on the true story of

(Moore), a police officer in

Ocean County, New Jersey Ocean County is a county located along the Jersey Shore in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Its county seat is Toms River.lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

police

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

and her domestic partner, Stacie Andree (Page). Following her diagnosis with terminal

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

in 2005, Hester repeatedly appealed to the county's

board of chosen freeholders In New Jersey, a Board of County Commissioners (until 2020 named the Board of Chosen Freeholders) is the elected county-wide government board in each of the state's 21 counties. In the five counties that have an elected county executive, the b ...

to have her pension benefits passed on to her domestic partner; she was eventually successful.

Cast

, a New Jersey police detective who is diagnosed with terminal cancer *

as Stacie Andree, a car mechanic and Hester's domestic partner *

as Dane Wells, Hester's supportive police partner *

as Steven Goldstein, founder and then-Chair of

Garden State Equality Garden State Equality is a statewide advocacy and education organization in the U.S. state of New Jersey that advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights, including same-sex marriage. History Garden State Equality was fo ...

as Todd Belkin, Hester's closeted gay colleague *

Josh Charles Joshua Aaron Charles (born September 15, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for the roles of Dan Rydell on '' Sports Night; '' Will Gardner on ''The Good Wife'', which earned him two Primetime Emmy Award nominations; and his early wo ...

as Bryan Kelder, a member of the Ocean County board of chosen freeholders and a lawyer *

Mary Birdsong Mary Evans Birdsong (born April 18, 1968) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and singer. She has worked in the theater and voiceover work and is a regular cast member on ''Reno 911!'' Early life Birdsong was born in Florida and grew up ...

as Carol Andree, Stacie's mother * Kelly Deadmon as Lynda Hester D'Orio, Laurel's sister *

Gabriel Luna Gabriel Luna is an American actor and producer. He is known for his roles as Robbie Reyes / Ghost Rider on the ABC action superhero series '' Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tony Bravo on the El Rey Netwo ...

as Quesada *

Anthony DeSando Anthony DeSando (born December 4, 1965), also known as Anthony Joseph De Santis, is an American actor. DeSando often portrays a joker or dapper villain in mob films such as ''New Jack City''. Early life DeSando was born in Jersey City, New Jer ...

as Toohey *

Skipp Sudduth Robert Lee "Skipp" Sudduth IV (born August 23, 1956) is an American theater, film and television actor. He is perhaps best known for his role in the 1998 film '' Ronin'' and his lead in the TV drama ''Third Watch''. Early life and education Bor ...

as Chief Reynolds * William Sadler as Peter Santucci *

Dennis Boutsikaris Dennis Boutsikaris (; born December 21, 1952) is an American character actor who has won the Obie Award twice. He is also a narrator of audiobooks, for which he has won 13 Golden Earphone Awards and 8 Audie Awards. He won Best Audiobook of the Y ...

as Pat Gerrity *

Adam LeFevre Adam LeFevre (born August 11, 1950) is an American character actor, poet, and playwright who works in cinema, television, theater and commercials. Biography LeFevre was born in Albany, New York, the son of Helen (née Rhodes), a hospital patient ...

as Don Bennett * Traci Hovel as Hannah

Production

Development

Screenwriter

announced his intention in 2010 to write a feature-length adaptation of

Cynthia Wade Cynthia Wade is an American television, commercial and film director, producer and cinematographer based in New York City. She has directed documentaries on social issues including '' Shelter Dogs'' in 2003 about animal welfare and ''Freeheld'' i ...

's 2007 Oscar-winning short film ''Freeheld'', a documentary about New Jersey police officer

's fight against the

to pass on her pension benefits to her domestic partner, Stacie Andree, after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. At that time,

had already agreed to star as Andree; he stated in 2014 that he had been involved in the project's development for almost six years. He first became involved after two of the film's producers,

Stacey Sher Stacey Sher (born November 30, 1962) is an American film producer. Early life Sher was born to a Jewish family in New York City and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She graduated and got her bachelor's degree from University of Southern Cal ...

and

Michael Shamberg Michael Shamberg (born 1945?) is an American film producer and former Time–Life correspondent. Life and career His credits include ''Erin Brockovich'', ''A Fish Called Wanda'', '' Garden State'', ''Gattaca'', ''Pulp Fiction'' and '' The Big ...

, sent him a copy of Wade's documentary and asked if he was interested in starring in an adaptation, an offer which he accepted "right away".

Catherine Hardwicke Helen Catherine HardwickeAccording to the State of Texas. ''Texas Birth Index, 1903–1997''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. (born October 21, 1955) is an American film director, p ...

was attached to the project as director early in its development but later withdrew. Shortly after the film's financing was secured in August 2012,

signed on to replace Hardwicke as director.

was cast as Hester in February 2014.

Zach Galifianakis Zachary Knight Galifianakis (born October 1, 1969) is an American actor and comedian. He appeared in ''Comedy Central Presents'' special and presented his show ''Late World with Zach'' on VH1. Galifianakis has starred in films including ''Th ...

was cast as Steven Goldstein, the founder and then-Chair of

, but was later replaced by

. Andree consulted with Page, Sollett and Nyswaner about the making of the film.

Filming

Although the film is set in New Jersey, it was filmed in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

due to its more generous tax incentives for filmmakers. Filming began in October 2014 in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

. In late October, a scene that was supposed to be filmed at Salesian High School, a Catholic boys' school in

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state of ...

, had to be relocated after the school's principal reversed his decision to allow the crew to film on the school campus. The shoot was later relocated to the city hall of

Rye, New York Rye is a coastal suburb of New York City in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is separate from the Town of Rye, which has more land area than the city. The City of Rye, formerly the Village of Rye, was part of the Town until it r ...

, which stood in for the Ocean County Administration Building in a scene where Hester and Andree apply for domestic partnership. Another scene, in which Hester lies ill in a hospital room, was filmed in the community center of

Greenburgh, New York Greenburgh is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in western Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York. The population was 95,397 at the time of the 2020 census. History Greenburgh developed along ...

, while the town board room of

North Hempstead, New York North Hempstead is one of three towns in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 237,639 at the 2020 census. History The area was first settled by Europeans around 1643 and became part of the town of Hem ...

stood in for the Ocean County Board of Freeholders' chambers.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by

Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Academy Awards, Oscars and four Grammy Awards, Grammys, and has been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmys and a Tony Awar ...

Johnny Marr Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher, 31 October 1963) is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has since performed with numerous ...

. It was released at

WaterTower Music WaterTower Music (formerly New Line Records from 2000 to 2010) is an American record label serving as the in-house music label and run by entertainment company Warner Bros., ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The name and logo are based o ...

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

and includes the following tracks. #"On The Case" #"Can I Have Your Number?" #"House Hunting" #"Can't Leave Her" #"The Decision" #"Justice" #"Remembering"

Release

In February 2015,

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

acquired distribution rights to the film. It received a

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

on October 2, 2015.

Reception

''Freeheld'' received mixed reviews from critics.

Review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reports a 49% rating based on 136 reviews, with an average rating of 5.62/10. The consensus states: "''Freeheld'' certainly means well, but its cardboard characters and by-the-numbers drama undermine its noble intentions." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the film has a 50 out of 100 rating based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Freeheld 2015 films 2015 independent films 2015 drama films 2015 LGBT-related films American drama films American LGBT-related films 2010s English-language films Films scored by Johnny Marr Films scored by Hans Zimmer Films about cancer Films directed by Peter Sollett Films produced by Elliot Page Films set in New Jersey Films shot in New York (state) Films shot in New York City LGBT-related drama films LGBT-related films based on actual events Lesbian-related films Summit Entertainment films 2010s American films