Freeheld
Lionsgate | Release Date: October 2, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
50
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
15
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
ObserverRex ReedSep 30, 2015
It’s a poignant, relevant and beautifully made film that must not be missed by anyone with a heart and a social conscience. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchCalvin WilsonOct 15, 2015
Page is outstanding as a young woman who has finally found happiness, only to see it cruelly slipping away. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleOct 8, 2015
Freeheld is formulaic, but some formulas are good if you do them right, and it helps knowing that it all really happened, or most of it. Read full review
75
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeOct 2, 2015
While it’s an undeniably powerful film, it also seemingly feels the need to tread carefully. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubBenjamin MercerOct 1, 2015
Nowhere the film goes is unexpected... but the plainspoken Freeheld charts a mostly admirable course there. Read full review
70
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlSep 30, 2015
Beneath the clichés of prestige filmmaking beat the hearts of a couple it's a privilege to get to know. Read full review
70
Screen DailyDavid D'ArcySep 16, 2015
Hester’s goal was to convince politicians that gay people are like everyone else. In its ultra-mainstream style, and now in its argument for equality (which most of America endorses today), this solidly acted drama drives that point home. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianJeff BakerOct 8, 2015
Freeheld isn't bad -- with that kind of source material and topline acting talent it almost couldn't be -- but it could have been much more than it is. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattOct 2, 2015
For all its clumsiness, the story resonates—and the photos that run over the final credits are a poignant reminder of the real life, not just the political legacy, that Laurel left behind. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperOct 8, 2015
Freeheld is a classic example of a well-made, well-acted film with the best of intentions — but a disappointingly heavy-handed method of delivering its message. Read full review
63
Rolling StonePeter TraversOct 2, 2015
If Freeheld cuts corners to get its point across, Moore and Page never do. You'll be with them all the way. Read full review
60
EmpireOlly RichardsFeb 15, 2016
Strong subject matter and a superb cast are treated disappointingly with sledgehammer subtlety. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranOct 1, 2015
Having its heart and mind in the right place is not enough to make this a better movie than it is. Read full review
58
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerOct 2, 2015
Freeheld is certainly timely, though, given its ponderous approach, less than invigorating. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy BurrOct 8, 2015
At the end, under the closing credits, Freeheld shows us photos of the real Hester and Andree, and we sense an immediacy the rest of the film lacks. These are the people we want to watch and not a movie simulacra, no matter how capably performed and earnestly felt. Read full review
50
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzOct 8, 2015
Good intentions can only take you so far. So it is with Freeheld, a well-meaning movie whose sterling intentions, timely and provocative subject and terrific cast are muted to near oblivion by uninspired storytelling and direction. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comOdie HendersonOct 2, 2015
The film’s heart is in the right place, but its focus is not. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriOct 2, 2015
Perhaps seeking not to sensationalize or to Hollywood-ize a story set in a drab, mundane world, Sollett shoots without any frills. That’s usually a good thing, but here it helps to suck the life out of the material — in part because Nyswaner’s screenplay seems to have settled for the most direct, speechifying way of dramatizing the issues at hand. Read full review
50
New York PostLou LumenickSep 30, 2015
It’s a disappointment as a movie, though Shannon is especially fine in a rare sympathetic role. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneySep 16, 2015
All the conviction the actors can muster can't make this script feel less pat. Read full review
50
IndieWireEric KohnSep 16, 2015
Unfortunately, while Julianne Moore and Ellen Page go great lengths to make the central romance convince, Nyswaner's undercooked script and Peter Sollett's direction have the opposite effect, reducing Freeheld to a tired formula. Read full review
50
HitfixGregory EllwoodSep 15, 2015
An impressive cast and significant real-life events can’t trump the fact it’s a badly made movie. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineEd GonzalezSep 14, 2015
The filmmakers, for better and for worse, stay out of the actresses' way, as Freeheld's artistry is so unadorned that the performances somehow feel more naked as a result. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenOct 14, 2015
The parade has now moved on and Freeheld seems more like a footnote than a groundswell. Read full review
40
Time OutDavid EhrlichSep 16, 2015
There’s no pleasure in trashing a film as humanistic and well-intentioned as Freeheld, but just because anyone would agree with its message doesn’t mean this glorified Lifetime movie does a worthy job of conveying it. Read full review
40
VarietyJustin ChangSep 16, 2015
Despite a credible and moving love story driven by strong performances from Julianne Moore and Ellen Page, director Peter Sollett’s film is an oppressively worthy and self-satisfied inspirational vehicle that views its story primarily as a series of teachable moments. Read full review
37
Washington PostAnn HornadayOct 8, 2015
A lugubrious cloud of mediocrity sets in early in Freeheld, a dreary dramatization of a pivotal gay rights case that paved the way for marriage equality. Read full review
33
The PlaylistRodrigo PerezSep 16, 2015
A would-be but not-actually-inspiring movie about a landmark LGBT rights case that loses sight of the flesh and blood people at its heart, gets bogged down in tedious municipal politics and fails to find a way to compellingly dramatize an important story. Read full review
30
The New York TimesManohla DargisOct 1, 2015
It’s a bummer to see Ms. Page and especially Ms. Moore — who at this point in her career can usually act her way out of any cliché — so badly stranded by a generic script, credited to Ron Nyswaner, and by a director, Peter Sollett, who can’t figure out how to lift his actors and the material above the bad writing. Read full review
20
The GuardianNigel M SmithSep 16, 2015
A film that should feel urgent and of its time, but instead is rendered cliched and dull by Sollet’s amateurish handling of the material. Read full review
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